Forgotten Waters (Sequel to Twilight Soldier, Radiant Knight)
by superspreegirl89
Summary: Three years after the war, Axel and Roxas join Demyx's pilgrimage to destroy Sin. It quickly escalates into a race against time as they fight for their lives, visit new worlds, and gain interesting new comrades. They vowed to destroy Sin once and for all...but at what cost? Rated M for: Language, violence, blood/gore, alcohol, disturbing mental images, etc.
1. 1-It Started with the Rain

**A/N-*peeks out from under her box* I'm baaaaaaaaack. This one's going on free lance updates so please don't expect any anytime soon as I'm mostly working on my non-fic works. In case you didn't see the title, this is a sequel! So, if you haven't read the first one, you might want to or this is going to be a hot mess of confusion. (I'll put in a link here somewhere). Anyway, I'll just let you get to it. Maybe if I feel like it this one will have some romance but we'll see! I honestly have no idea where this is going to go! :O Read and enjoy my lovely readers. Until I update! (Hopefully within the next month...)**

**ALSO, huge disclaimer going out to the entire series because I love my blanket statements. I do not own Kingdom Hearts, any of the Final Fantasy Games, nor any of the music (save for physical copies but that's not the rights!) It's an original story with some plot points paralleling some Disney/Final Fantasy story lines. I do not own the originals. This is a work of fiction meant for enjoyment of others and it is not being sold/promoted for sales in anyway. All characters and themes mentions belong to their rightful owners. Thanks!**

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**Prequel: Twilight Soldier, Radiant Knight. Enter the following after the basic website name or just go to my profile and find it there. :)**

******s/9403715/1/Twilight-Soldier-Radiant-Knight**

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_ It rained that day. Hard. I remember watching from my window as the drops cascaded onto the streets below, drenching the stone with molecules of liquid. Gutters were filled to the brim and ran like rivers down to the water ways. It washed away anything in sight. Leaves. Grass. Sand._

_ But not the pain._

_ I was twelve. Only two years had passed since we decided to take on our quest. I wasn't ready yet. When it happened, there was a brief moment where I thought I would never be ready. I was supposed to set out and destroy something that couldn't be touched by man. I guess you could almost call it a god. But it had to be done. It had to, or the rest of the worlds would suffer the same fate._

_ The rain continued with no end. Cushions next to me sank, followed by a heavy sigh. I could feel his gaze on me and our eyes met for a brief moment. I didn't need to see to find the pain in his vacant orbs. I pull him into my lap, wrapping my arms around his head. There he cries himself to sleep, yet it wasn't grief. It was fear. Fear for our home, our people, our world. All worlds. I vowed I would train harder and defeat the impossible. How, I wasn't sure._

_ I look out the window again. One less light in the sky. I couldn't see the change yet I could feel it radiating through my soul on that day, the day it rained._

_ The day Sin destroyed the Enchanted Domain._

_ What remained was a valley of twisted thorns consumed with emerald flames. They had no warning and no way to survive. I couldn't see the damage myself, but I could feel the extent of it from the stories I heard of those who dared to venture out to the begotten world. Soon, summoners were sprouting from the darkest delves of the worlds to defeat the entity that had caused the deaths of so many. So many failed, so many died. Why were we even going to try? Because I believe we have something more to our band of guardians and our summoner. Something that would destroy Sin for good._

_ I only hoped I was right._

XxXxX

Axel pressed closer to the edge of the building, his pulse racing in his heaving chest as he attempted to suppress any excess noise. His eyes glanced around the side of the house to find the street empty. Fingers tightened their grip on his weapon. '_Where are you?'_ he asked silently.

Axel turned at a sudden noise and his face was hit with a very squishy orange. The man spluttered and wiped the rotten fruit from his features. His eyes glared at the assailant, sending daggers through his acid green gaze. Roxas was in a fit of laughter as he made a mad dash away from the scene. Axel grinned darkly, his fingers digging into his weapon to the point juice began dripping off of his fingers. He darted after the blonde, eager to return the favor.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Axel roared. Roxas merely cackled over his shoulder. The blonde turned a corner and was knocked off his feet by a flying watermelon crashing into his collar bone. Roxas tumbled head over heel in a mess of smashed watermelon until he landed on his stomach, juice seeping through his shirt. Axel took the opportunity to leap onto the blonde and pin him to the ground. Roxas squirmed as the red head held the younger in a headlock.

"Get off!" Roxas shouted, trying to butt Axel's face with the back of his head.

"Suffer," Axel hissed. He pressed his occupied hand into Roxas's face, smothering the blonde with a juicy papaya. Roxas coughed and spat out the seeds as the pulp ran down his face. Axel was quick on his feet, leaping from the blonde and dashing down the street before Roxas had a chance to wipe his dripping features. The soldier smirked and shoved himself to his feet, keeping a close eye on the red head. He watched Axel pick up a bunch of bananas from one of the buckets placed around the streets. As Roxas ran by, he frowned at the empty bucket but continued after his target without slowing.

"You are so not winning!" Roxas taunted. Axel laughed and flung the bananas one at a time over his shoulder towards Roxas, missing horribly. His heel suddenly slid forward without warning as his foot hit a large puddle of pineapple juice. Axel yelped as he fell backwards, landing heavily on his back. The air was knocked from his lungs which momentarily dazed him.

"Fire!" he heard the triplets shouted. Axel threw up his arms as he was assaulted with a hoard of mixed berries as the fruit rained from the sky. Roxas chuckled as Axel was pelted with the tiny fruits. He locked his legs to slide to a halt, but the juicy streets cut back on the friction. Roxas felt his heart leap into his throat as he kept sliding.

"Oh, shit!" he cried as his ankles slammed into Axel and he collapsed on the red head with a thud. His nose was filled with pineapple juice and berry seeds. There was an exchange of high fives between the triplets.

"Bullseye!" they all cried, laughing. Roxas pushed himself off of Axel only to have his palm slip and he fell back down, his face landing on the remnants of an orange. The triplets lost it completely, doubling over in wild fits of laughter. Axel shoved Roxas off of him and scooped up the pulpy remains of a melon, flinging it at the siblings. The trio attempted to scatter but ran into each other. Melon splattered all over them, staining their clothes and hair. Axel grinned triumphantly, berry juice running down his face.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned on instinct to receive a face full of mango. The smile on his face slid downward with the juice. Roxas ran off laughing so hard he could scarcely breathe. Axel ran to the nearest bucket and grabbed the entire thing. He began chucking kiwis at the blonde's back, the fruits bouncing off harmlessly. Axel frowned as his hand reached for a fruit only to find juice. He was out of ammo and finding descent fruit to use was getting harder and harder to scavenge.

A loud chime rang out through the streets followed by cheers. Axel and Roxas slowed to a halt, their chests heaving from running nearly all morning. Their eyes shot upwards as fireworks were launched in the sky, celebrating another year in Disney Town. The pair was stained head to toe in various fruit juices, pulp and seeds from the day's battle. Their skin was sticky to the touch and their mouths tasted of fruit salad. Axel's hair was plastered to his neck while Roxas's was swept even more to the side than usual.

The red head sauntered over to Roxas with the bucket tucked under his arm. Roxas turned and smiled at his friend, still breathless from running. Axel smirked mischievously.

"You missed a spot," he commented. Roxas gave him a puzzled look before Axel dumped the juicy contents of the bucket over the blonde's head. Roxas froze as he was drenched in fruit juice. When the initial shock was over, he wiped the pulp from his face and licked his lips.

"Mmm, cherry," the blonde said sarcastically. Axel burst out laughing, clutching the bucket to his stomach. He was tackled from behind by the triplets, grunting as they assaulted his legs with hugs.

"Axel!" they cried happily as they fought to reach the tall man's shoulders.

"Hey, squirts," the red head replied. He tossed his bucket to Roxas who set it aside on the road. Axel tried not to move so he wouldn't knock the tiny climbers from his body. "Let's go get you cleaned up for your uncle. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

"Aw!" the siblings complained in unison. Roxas couldn't help but chuckle at the four in front of him. Huey, Dewey, and Louie were Donald's nephews who had come to taking a liking with the Traverse Town pair. It was their first fruit fight, as they were only five, but Axel and Roxas were determined to make sure they had fun since they were deemed honorary "uncles" to the triplets. They were never told why but the elder pair had a feeling it had something to do with their real uncle being quite the stick in the mud. All three sported their family genes of fair skin and white hair. The only way to tell them apart was by their favorite colors: Huey's was red, Dewey's was blue, and Louie's was green. Otherwise, they were practically impossible to tell apart.

Roxas plucked Louie, the quieter one, from Axel's back and plopped him on his own shoulders. The tiny boy tangled his fingers in the man's sticky blonde locks and started creating a new hairstyle for his "uncle". Huey and Dewey fought over the honors of who was going to sit on Axel's shoulders. The red head laughed and placed a triplet on each side to appease them. Huey and Dewey stuck out their tongues at each other, each handing tightly onto Axel's crimson locks so they wouldn't fall.

"Be nice, guys," Axel warned with a darker tone. The pair on his shoulders muttered their apologizes before they turned their attention to fiddling with Axel's hair. Huey was spiking it up as high as it would go while Dewey twisted it into a braid, the fruit juice acting like hairspray. The two men started to make their way back to the main courtyard where the triplet's uncle was surely waiting for his nephews.

"Uncle Roxas, are you guys leaving after this?" Louie asked quietly. Roxas was about to look up at the boy until he remembered he was playing with his hair. Instead, he sighed softly.

"Sorry, squirt. We have to get back to Traverse Town before we head over to Hollow Bastion to meet with the King tomorrow," Roxas explained.

"Aw!" the trio whined. They weren't the least bit excited their favorite "uncles" were leaving on a long trip.

"Don't worry; we'll be back next year!" Axel promised with a grin. The boys cheered, already planning what they were going to do at the next fruit fight. Roxas exchanged glances with his friend and they each rolled their eyes as they barely contained their laughter.

As they entered the main courtyard, they were greeted with a bark. Pluto bounded over to them and ran around their legs, barking excitedly at their arrival. His paws were stained various colors from running over the juice stained streets. Axel scratched his old friend on the top of his head, receiving a happy tail wag from Pluto. Roxas steered their course over to the bemused looking Donald, who stood off to the side with his lovely wife Daisy. Donald had adopted his nephews when their parents were killed in the war against Xemnas. He knew he could never replace their fun-loving parents, as he was typically a stoic man, but he did his best to raise the triplets. Daisy did her best as well to be a loving and caring mother, but she was an attendant to Queen Minnie which meant her days were long and mostly spent at the Castle.

Upon their approach, Donald gave the group a nod. "I see you had fun today," the mage noted.

"Uncle Donald!" the triplets cried. They jumped off their respected rides and raced over to their uncle, hugging the man's legs and quickly staining his pants. Donald's jaw twitched but he let the notion slide. Daisy giggled and motioned for the boys to leave their uncle alone.

"Boys!" she scolded with a gentle smile. "Leave your uncle alone until we get you cleaned up." The triplets gave their usual "aw" but obliged their adopted mother. Daisy was always smartly dressed in either a suit or a dress of some sort. Her short white hair was messy but in a stylish way, the back curling up like a ducktail.

"Thanks for letting us join this year," Roxas stated with a bright smile. The mage gave him a respectful nod.

"But of course. We normally don't let in outsiders to our festivities but to us you're family, not to mention Disney adores you for how you helped save our world," Donald replied. "The King will always welcome you back to Disney with open arms. If you find yourselves needing a bit of reprieve, do come to us and we will do what we can to help," the mage offered.

"Thanks. That means a lot," Roxas accepted.

Huey broke off from his brothers and tugged on his uncle's pant leg. "Uncle Donald? Where are they going?" the tiny boy asked.

"They're going to help a friend," Donald replied, cracking a tiny smile as he peered down at his nephew.

"With what?" Dewey wondered, not understanding why his favorite "uncles" weren't going to visit for the next year.

"We're going to go fight monsters!" Axel exclaimed, striking an over exuberant pose. Excitement built in the triplet's eyes.

"We want to go! Please?!" the triplets begged, tugging at their uncle's pants. Donald sighed and rolled his eyes.

"No. You're far too young to be battling real monsters," the mage rebutted. "If you're so keen on fighting, go pester Max or Pluto." Pluto let out a happy bark at the mention of his name, but the boys pouted as their fun was spoiled, once again, but their stoic uncle.

Axel knelt down and ruffled the triplet's hair. "Aw, don't be sad. We'll go fight the monsters for you," he reassured them. "Just remember to listen to your uncle while we're gone. It's a good thing his hair's already white." Donald frowned heavily while Daisy broke into a fit of giggles.

"Come on, you sap. Naminé's waiting for us back home," Roxas reminded. "We need to go get cleaned up and say good-bye to the King still, remember?" Axel sighed and waved his hand to dismiss the thought as he rose to his feet. Roxas turned to the trio by Donald's legs. "Be good and listen to your uncle now."

"We will," the triplets promised. Roxas smiled and knelt down, opening his arms wide. The boys ran into them and crushed the blonde with their hugs. Roxas hugged them back equally as tight.

"What? No love for me?" Axel teased. The triplets quickly darted over to Axel and he scooped them up in a large hug. "I'll miss you tykes!" Roxas stood while the red head set the boys back on the ground. They gave the mage and his wife small bows before heading for the showers up in the castle.

"Bye!" the triplets cried together. Axel looked over his shoulder and shot the boys a wink.

"Can you believe those three are growing up so fast?" Roxas commented. Axel turned forward and folded his hands behind his head. "Two years ago they were barely past our knees."

"My knees maybe. Yours…not so much," Axel teased. Roxas gave his friend a shove, earning a loud bark of laughter from the taller of the pair. "Can you believe it's already been three years? We've hardly seen anyone outside of Traverse Town, Destiny Islands and Disney. Do you think the others are doing alright?" Axel mused.

"Zexion's probably shitting his pants but Ienzo should be excited. Any word from Demyx?" Roxas looked up to the elder man's face to see Axel frown.

"No, but he'll turn up. He wouldn't let us down."

"If you say so," the blonde muttered. Axel clasped a hand on his friend's shoulder to reassure him.

"Trust me. He won't run off with all of us counting on him. Now let's get a move on! Adventure is out there waiting for us! Let's answer the call and run off to our destinies!" the red head exclaimed. Roxas shoved Axel away, earning another loud peal of laughter from his friend.

XxXxX

Ienzo inhaled deeply before letting it slowly escape his lungs. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be the day they were gathering to stop Sin. The teen opened his pale eyes and stared at the empty mirror he couldn't see in front of him. He could make out the reflection of his light and dark energy, but that was all. He chewed on his bottom lip nervously, a nervous habit he probably picked up from Axel during the small bit of time they spent together after the war. Since then, he had only been to Traverse Town once to visit his friends, but that was over two years ago.

'_Will they still recognize me?'_ Ienzo wondered. He hadn't meant to stay away so long. His training was vigorous and as he was next in line for the throne, he was learning as much as his brother about royalty, ruling over a world, and being a public figure in the eyes of the galaxies. So much had changed in three years and the teen wasn't sure if he was ready for it.

The sound of his bedroom door opening echoed behind him but he didn't bother to turn. "I know I'm ready, but I still have the right to be nervous," he called out, his voice cracking. He heard a soft chuckle followed by footsteps. His reflection was joined by one that was dimmer, made more of darkness than light. He felt a chin rest on one shoulder while an arm snake around his back to clasp onto the other.

"And I have the right to worry," Zexion replied. Ienzo smiled softly. The chin left its perch as well as the hand. He felt his brother fiddle idly with the tips of his hair. "When did you get so tall?" Zexion wondered.

"I'm thirteen!" Ienzo shot back. "I'm supposed to be tall." Zexion chuckled, amused with his brother's bold nature. The younger sibling was still short, as he only came up to the King's collar bone, but he was still growing. In fact, Zexion wondered if his younger brother would one day outgrow him. What he lacked in stature, he made up for in ferocity. Ienzo was a lot more outgoing than his timid brother most likely do to what happened back in the war. It didn't bother Zexion but the teen's language, when he wasn't in the presence of people of high social stature, was another story entirely.

"We should go get some breakfast," Zexion suggested.

"I don't know if I can stomach anything," the teen admitted. Ienzo felt the hand cup his cheek and a kiss was placed on the top of his forehead.

"You'll need your strength. What would the others say if you passed out on the first day?" Ienzo rolled his eyes. He was used to Zexion worrying about him, but as he grew older he found the gesture to be more of an annoyance.

"Alright, _mother_. Lead the way to the breakfast table." Zexion chuckled and put his arm around his brother's shoulders. Then he steered the blind teen towards the kitchen, butterflies racing in both of their stomachs as the final hours ticked away before they would be separated once again.

XxXxX

Roxas let the hot spray hit his face. It felt good and he had no idea when his next shower would be as he wasn't planning on taking one in the morning. He could hear Axel in the stall next to him, humming various tunes as the man scrubbing the sticky sweetness from his body. The edges of the blonde's lips curled up and he closed his eyes, enjoying the moment of peaceful solitude. He heard the bathhouse door open, followed by the distinctive click of nails against the floorboards. Pluto gave a welcoming bark to the pair in the stalls.

"Hey, we're coming!" Axel shouted, turning off the water. Roxas grinned and turned off his own shower, pulling the fluffy towel from the hook. He dried his pink skin and ran the towel through his damp hair before wrapping it around his waist. Roxas stepped out of his stall almost at the exact moment Axel did. Their eyes met for a moment and Axel frowned.

"What?" Roxas asked, worry starting to gnaw at his stomach.

"It's starting to show again," Axel muttered. Roxas picked up a piece of his limp hair and checked the ends. Sure enough, they were turning a bright shade of pink. Given enough time to grow, they would turn into a fiery red that would match Axel's own hair. Roxas features fell as his self-esteem deflated in an instant. Being brought back to life by Kingdom Hearts was as much as a curse as it was a blessing. As Axel was the one that revived him, Roxas was bound to the elder like valet to a master.

Beyond the bonds of Kingdom Hearts, there were physical signs of Roxas's connection to Axel. His hair was still bright blonde but if it grew out long enough it would turn red, which meant Roxas was constantly trimming it because he liked his hair on the longer side. His right eye never fully recovered from the change from when he was controlled by Kingdom Hearts as well. The left was his normal cerulean blue while the right was teal, blue and green mixing together. Luckily, Roxas had been cut free when he did or the damage would have been more extensive. The changes in his features didn't bother Roxas at first, but the longer he dealt with it, the more it started to nag at him he wasn't fully himself anymore. Even though Kingdom Hearts had been broken apart again, he was still haunted with the fact he owed his life to his friend and every day he was reminded of it.

The worst side effect wasn't a visible one. Roxas could feel Axel's every emotion but not the other way around. If Axel cut himself, Roxas would hiss as his finger stung, although no blood would be drawn. The physical pain wasn't as potent as the emotions, particularly the raw emotions such as joy, rage and sorrow, which Roxas was grateful for. It made fighting easier since he could simply ignore the dull aches and pains that didn't truly exist. Axel knew of Roxas's condition and was ever mindful of what he was doing or feeling to prevent the blonde from suffering more than he had to. Yet it was hard for the elder to be mindful of what he was doing or feeling every second of the day, so he found himself constantly checking on Roxas to make sure he was alright.

One exciting piece of news they discovered while sparring one day was the Shards of Kingdom Hearts were still connected. They could exchange power between them, so long as both Shards acknowledged the trade. It became a useful tool while Roxas and Axel trained for their upcoming expedition. Naminé also took advantage of this as she worked hard to grow stronger, her quest to join her friends in helping Demyx undeterred.

Roxas sighed and let his hair drop. "I'll have to have Nam trim it before we leave," he muttered. Axel nodded stiffly. He could tell Roxas was feeling down, but the elder could never quite figure out how to cheer up the blonde. Roxas was still the same as the day they first met, yet Axel didn't need a special connection to tell his friend was torn up inside. He felt it had something to do with bringing the Twilight Soldier back to life but whenever Axel brought up the topic Roxas would simply tip-toe around it.

The pair silently went to the changing room and pulled on their spare pair of clothes they had brought with. Then they headed farther into the Castle, Pluto happily jogging along beside them. Upon reaching the King's office, they were greeted with the doors swinging open wide to reveal the royalty himself. Mickey broke out into a broad smile and embraced each of the boys in turn. Then he looked each of them over with a pleased countenance.

"I'm going to miss seeing you both," Mickey stated, his smile turning sad.

"We'll be home by next year," Axel replied. "Well, hopefully by next year." Mickey's smile faded.

"I hope you're right. Many summoners have perished already these past months while others who have started their journey years ago still have not found the answer they seek to defeat the almighty Sin. I urge caution on you all and I will pray for your safety," the King said, giving them a bow of his head.

"Thanks, Mickey," Roxas said softly. "If I can, I'll try and relay information to you via TwiT."

The King's shoulders relaxed a bit as a smile poked at the corners of his lips. "That would be wonderful, provided we can manage to decode it," Mickey joked. The pair of soldiers chuckled, remembering back to when it took Chip and Dale over seven hours to decode a message while Roxas did it in about seven seconds. Since then, the King made sure his Intell force brushed up on all of the codes, both new and old in case the situation ever came up again. Mickey's bright smile returned as he spotted Donald approaching with his nephews, now clean of their fruity mess, bounding along behind him. Daisy was no longer with her husband, presumably now with the Queen, but Goofy followed the triplets, giving a big wave to the Traverse Town pair.

"Hey!" the Commander called with his trademark grin. "Don't think you're getting away without a goodbye!" Axel and Roxas chuckled.

"We wouldn't dream of it," Roxas shot back. Goofy beamed. He scooped Roxas off of the ground and crushed him in a gut wrenching hug. The blonde felt the air squeeze out of his lungs.

"I'm going to miss you guys!" Goofy cried.

"Don't kill him," Donald requested, sending his partner a dark look. Goofy set Roxas down, the blonde gasping as his lungs expanded gratefully. The Commander then crushed Axel in a hug, although the red head was tall enough to keep his feet on the ground. Donald shook hands with the Traverse Town pair, giving them his wishes. The triplets clung to their "uncles'" legs, begging them not to leave for so long. Donald cast them a glare and the trio sadly went over to their uncle.

"Be sure to give my regards to Zexion," Mickey brought up.

"Will do," Roxas agreed. Axel and Roxas stepped away from the group and pounded their shoulders. Their gleaming armor materialized into view, weapons polished at their sides. The armor had changed design over the years as they felt the need to change out of their old suits. They reminded them too much of the war.

Roxas's was much more sharp, although the colors remained practically the same. The base color was black with white and pale yellow accents to give the features more definition. The fingers of his gauntlets were pointed almost to lethal tips, his elbows had three inch spikes on them to stab assailants who attacked from behind and his boots rose up past his knees in the front in a sharp point to match the elbows. Instead of a helm, as Roxas found it rather warm to fight in for long periods of time, he had a plated hood he could throw back when needed. The hood retracted into the back plating of his armor as Roxas quickly found out the loose hood was easy for anyone to grab ahold of while fighting. The soldier's earrings were staggered black and white: two studs and a ring on the upper cartilage, and a short chain on a stud on the lower lobe. They were also staggered black and white per side, so where his right side had a black chain the left had a white.

Axel's armor also took on a black hue, although his was accented with deep scarlet and silver. The chest piece was mostly red with ebony flames etched down the man's sides. Behind his legs was a black and red half-skirt held up on his waist by a heavy belt. It was open in the front and had a large split up the back so it could flare out when needed. The fabric was flame retardant to withstand the man's fire, although he could disconnect the belt to lose the extra weight when needed. Axel still had his staple black lip ring, but he also sported three jagged metal loops on the upper cartilage of his ears. His hair remained loose around his shoulders, which nearly covered the heavy metal choker around his neck made from platinum.

The triplets gaped at the pair's armor, which quickly turned to begging their uncle for cool armor of their own. Donald shushed them while the soldiers gave their final farewells to the King. Then the King escorted the pair out to the courtyard while the mage struggled to usher his nephews elsewhere. Goofy chuckled at his partner's struggles so he scooped up the boys in his arms, much to the boys' protests, and carried them off after Donald.

Mickey continually glanced at the soldiers as they made their way outside. He had grown to love each of them like sons, as he had no children of his own, and the last thing he wanted to see was for them to perish like so many others before Sin. Once outside, Roxas drew his swords. It took close to a year before the blonde was able to revert his swords back from their Keyblade form. It wasn't that Roxas didn't mind fighting with them, he just rather not repeat what happened during the war as anyone could just take his Keyblades at will and steal either his heart or his light.

The Twilight Soldier tossed his swords into the air and they exploded in a shower of light, fusing together into his transport. His wind sailor snapped to life in a shower of light particles, ready for the pair to board. Roxas jumped on and Axel climbed aboard after him, both holding tightly to the bar on the sail. They gave a final wave to the King Disney and took off into the sky. Once Roxas flew high enough, he vanished in a blink of light.

"I miss them already." Mickey turned to find Minnie strolling up behind him with Daisy close behind. He smiled and cast his gaze back to the empty morning sky.

"Knowing them, they'll be back," he comforted.

"And if they don't?" Mickey turned back to his wife and took her hands in his, kissing her on the cheek.

"What would Axel and Roxas say if they heard you doubting them?" he contested. "We need to be strong like them so they have someplace to come back to when this is all over." Minnie offered a small smile but the King could tell it was strained.

"I know, but I can't help but worry," she said softly. Mickey embraced her, rubbing his wife's back gently.

'_Do come home safely_.' Mickey prayed, his heart full of worry.

XxXxX

Naminé stared up at the sky patiently. It was a beautiful late summer morning in Traverse Town. White clouds drifted lazily over the bright blue sky while butterflies danced lazily around the flowers in the field. So much had changed in Traverse Town since the end of the war. The biggest change was the city expanded from three Districts to five. The Radiant Garden refugee sector became District Four while downtown and the Twilight Town refugee sector became District Five. Downtown was expansive, complete with a theater, mall and shopping district for travelers to visit during their stay in the growing world. Traverse Town had transformed from a dismal sanctuary housing those who needed shelter from the war to a bustling metropolis filled with life.

The house Naminé lived in still remained outside the main city where she lived with Roxas and Axel. The field remained untouched save a large fountain in the middle of the grassy field where Axel had charred the earth during his fight with Roxas three years ago. Vegetation found it difficult to grow there so the Restoration Committee covered it up with a fountain to commemorate the fallen during the war against Xemnas. It was of Radiant Garden design with water lilies drifting lazily in the waters in the base and intricate stone designs sending water trickling in eight different directions before they all cascaded to the base below. The house itself was in perfect shape as the trio who lived there took the better part of a month to complete the repairs on it, no thanks to Xemnas once again.

Naminé tucked a stray hair behind her ear as the wind blew it astray. She glanced down and straightened her nursing dress to make sure she looked presentable when her adopted brothers arrived. Despite her love for art, she decided to spend most of her time honing her skills she felt were needed for her upcoming quest to help Demyx destroy Sin. Where she lacked in combat skills, she picked up in her healing abilities. With mentoring by her friend Aqua, she was able to pick up Cure spells rather quickly which would help ease their burden of carrying medical supplies. In coordination with Aqua, she also trained with Roxas and Axel regularly on top of her occupation at the local hospital. Seeing as she had formed a strong connection with her brothers through the Kingdom Hearts Shards, she was able to use light and fire magic, although not to the degree of the elemental fighters, but she was able to use the magic effectively as a spellblade.

The focus of her training was on her channeling abilities. Like back in the war, Roxas and Axel could focus their energy into her to give her the power of sunlight. Under the effects of sunlight, her power nearly tripled and she was able to give a power boost to her body guard, Seifer. Yet much to her disappointment she had yet to find what her most prominent trait was to channel to others. Roxas had light magic, Axel had fire. Kairi had the power of nature, which when given to the elemental fighters gave them an enormous power spike, and it would lessen the energy needed for healing spells. Ventus had the power of the wind on his side as a wind elemental fighter. Sora was able to pass on his guard and counter skills while Riku was able to channel the true powers of darkness.

Yet Naminé's ability remained aloof.

The girl cast her gaze skyward again and searched the passing clouds for any signs of her brothers. There was a bright flash followed by a dark shape descending to the ground below. Naminé smiled on instinct at the sight of her family soaring down to their home. As they flew over the ground, Axel leapt off first and deactivated his armor. Roxas slowed the speed of his wind surfer and hopped off, the transport changing back to his swords in a flurry of light. He sheathed the blades before deactivating his armor. Then he made his way over to Naminé.

"Morning," he greeted, kissing his sister on the forehead. Naminé giggled and hugged her brother.

"Welcome home!" she greeted. Axel sauntered over and Naminé released Roxas to hug the taller of the pair. "You both smell like a fruit stand!" the girl teased, releasing her elder brother.

"I can't imagine why," Axel said sarcastically. The trio burst out laughing and began strolling towards their home.

"So how was work today?" Roxas asked, noticing Naminé had yet to change out of her uniform. She even still had her white nurses cap on the crown of her head.

"Mmm, not too bad," Naminé replied. "We had a couple of guys come in with Enchanted burns on them. I don't get why people are still trying to think that world can be saved. It's nothing but a sea of fire out there." Those who dared to venture to the Enchanted Domain usually found themselves getting burned by the emerald flames, although the fire was more of a curse than actual fire. The burns healed slowly, if at all, and left horrible jade scars on a person's flesh.

"When are people going to realize there's nothing left…" Axel muttered irritatingly. His own home, Radiant Garden, wasn't much better. Xehanort's bombs, modified to summon Sin for a brief period of time, reduced the world to nothing but ash and brick. Twilight Town was in the same state, although it fared a bit better than the first world as many of the structures had been reinforced for the war so many skeletons remained.

"They're still hoping people are alive in there, trapped by the thorns," Naminé reminded him, giving her brother a nudge. "I would be worried to if my family was suddenly erased from the map without warning. At least with Radiant Garden I know what happened since I was there. The Enchanted Domain had no warning. Sin just destroyed the world on his own."

"And he's going to pay for it," the red head growled, clenching his fists tightly together. Naminé put a hand on Axel's arm and felt some of the tension release from his muscles. Roxas opened the door to the house and they all filed upstairs to their rooms. Naminé's remained the same: white and covered with her drawings. Roxas's room had been repainted to look like the beaches of Destiny Islands, many thanks to Naminé. He found it hard trying to sleep when he came back home so Naminé took a week to repaint his room to a more calming atmosphere. Axel's room was a mess, which was rather the striking contrast to when Xion stayed in the space. The walls had been repainted crimson with a black border near the ceiling painted to look like intricate wrought iron, which had only taken Naminé a day to paint.

The trio shed their clothes and changed into various states of dress. Naminé changed into pajamas as she was headed for bed after she made sure the boys ate breakfast. Axel slipped on some jeans and a t-shirt as he was off to go work his job as a welder on the various expansions of Traverse Town. Roxas donned himself a dress shirt and slacks before hitting to the bathroom to attempt to tame his wild hair. He had a meeting to attend as the representative of Twilight Town and he was to meet up with Leon, who was the representative of Traverse Town as the head of the Restoration Committee, beforehand.

They all met back in the kitchen and ate a cold breakfast in silence. Naminé nearly fell asleep in her cereal while Axel kept swirling his juice around in his glass as through if it moved enough he would see a picture amongst the bits of pulp. Roxas was more focused on reading the newspaper to see if there was anything interesting going on before they left home.

"They're opening a new strip mall," the ombred man commented, flicking through the pages of his newspaper. Naminé jerked awake while Axel merely shrugged at the news. With nothing interesting popping out of the pages, Roxas excused himself from the table. He took care of his dishes before kissing Naminé on the top of the head and headed off to his meeting. Axel dumped his dishes in the sink and chased after the blonde, leaving Naminé to stagger back upstairs and collapse onto her bed, falling asleep in seconds.

"So what's at this meeting?" Axel asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Just routine stuff," Roxas replied, attempting to fix his hair again. "World order, trade, all that garbage and a sack of shit. I really hate being the representative."

"Too much stress?" the elder asked. He was hoping Roxas would say yes so he could talk the blonde out of the meeting but the twenty three year old merely shook his head.

"No, I can handle it. I'm just no good at politics," Roxas shot back. Axel could easily tell that wasn't the whole story but he decided not to push. The blonde tended to get defensive if he was pushed too far with pressing questions.

"Alright. Tell Leon I say hi." Axel split off as they entered District Five and Roxas continued towards District Four. He found Leon waiting for him dressed in a brown button up, black slacks, and looked equally uncomfortable in the formal wear. They exchanged small talk as they took the long road down to District One, where the meeting was being held. Not much had changed since they last spoke which gave them little to talk about.

They arrived at the meeting space, which was on the upper level of a shop being run by Cid. He had a super computer set up to connect to the major worlds so they could meet on a monthly basis to discuss the world order. This was mostly to prevent what happened with King Xemnas, but it was also to build strong bonds between the worlds.

Roxas and Leon got as comfortable as they could in their chairs while Cid set up the computer. The large TV monitor sprang to life and they were conferenced into the meeting. All along the bottom of the screen were small pictures of others who were in on the call. Roxas could make out many familiar faces that had been at the battle on Hollow Bastion, but there were also some others that frequented the meetings from smaller worlds.

"Good morning everyone. I don't suppose we can get this started early," the Grand Councilwoman greeted.

"Alright," King Mickey agreed. "I suppose I can start. Disney Town is currently celebrating its annual festivities and we so far have experienced no issues. We trialed having select outsiders in on the festivities and our trials has been successful thus far. In a few years' time we may open our doors to the public again."

"That's excellent to hear," Prince Ali replied. Leon elbowed Roxas in the side discretely and the blonde had to hide his smile.

The meeting continued on with everyone speaking in turn. Leon spoke in turn for both Traverse Town and Radiant Garden while Roxas kept his portion on Twilight Town brief as there really wasn't much happening in the outer Districts. When he was done speaking, one of the others spoke up.

"Is it true you're leaving as a guardian to go fight Sin?" King Triton asked.

"Um, yes. We'll be leaving tomorrow," Roxas replied as best he could without tripping over his words. His eyes glanced at the bottom corner of the screen where Zexion's face should have been but the King remained absent once again. He assumed it was due to the overabundance of work the new King was receiving but Roxas still felt a bit disheartened the man typically failed to show his presence to the other worlds.

Thankfully, Leon cut off further questions as he feigned a story they had other pressing matters to attend to so they couldn't stay any longer. Roxas breathed a sigh of relief as the connection cut. He suddenly felt very tired.

"Go get some rest," Leon suggested. Roxas managed to get to his feet, nodding slowly. His head felt like it was in a fog as he made his way back towards District Five. Each time he passed through a door to another District, Roxas felt worse and worse as though something was eating him from the inside out. It took him a moment to realize it was anxiety and it wasn't just coming from himself. He could tell Axel was nervous for their quest the next day and the red head was brooding over it while he worked. Roxas did his best to ignore it but it sucked his energy dry.

The blonde staggered and tripped over his own feet. Before his face planted into the ground, someone grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him upright. Roxas found himself looked up at Cloud, the elder looking worried. He felt his lips move as he tried to say something but he didn't hear what he said exactly. The next thing he knew he was collapsing on the street.

"Roxas! Roxas!" Cloud's voice echoed in his ear.

As Roxas opened his eyes, he found himself staring at a tall figure emblazed in golden fire in front of him. He hesitantly reached out but recoiled as the fire singed his fingers. Whatever, or whoever, it wasn't going to let the soldier anywhere near it. '_Then why show me at all?'_ Roxas wondered.

He was suddenly thrown backwards into the darkness until he was digging his feet into a large stained glass window to slow himself down. Roxas halted right at the edge, nearly tipping over the side. His eyes scanned the glass and found it was a series of shadowed out figures. Some of the outlines looked familiar while others were completely foreign to him.

_Are you ready?_

Roxas's head snapped up at the sound of Kingdom Hearts. "Why are you showing this to me?" the blonde shouted.

_You are the one to bind them together._

"Not this again," Roxas groaned. "Can't you be straight with me for once?!"

_Roxas._ The man shivered. It was strange hearing Kingdom Hearts say his name. _You are the one who will open the door._

"You said this last time! Stop taunting me!"

_Remember, the closer you get to the light, the bigger your shadow becomes._

Roxas's brows knit together in confusion. He saw his shadow appear on the floor stretched out across the glass. Then it crawled out of the floor in the form of a giant heartless, one reminiscent of when Roxas's light was removed. The blonde's heart seized in his chest at the sight of the monstrous creature. He didn't even have his swords to fight!

The heartless pulled his fist back and Roxas threw his arms up to protect himself. Then the fist came down and buried him into the floor, smothering him with darkness.

**A/N-I do have chapter 2 started, so yay? Hurray for cliffhangers!**


	2. 2-A Quest Begins

**A/N-I'm back! Yay! Chapter 2! Only a month later….. XD Inspiration goes to "Red Fraction", aka the opening to Black Lagoon. (I freaking love this song!) Updates will still be at random, but hopefully I'll get chapter 3 up before a month goes by. ^^ I put chapter progress on my profile page if you ever interested where the heck I am with updates. With that, read and enjoy!**

_It was on that day we learned Roxas wasn't himself. As he was brought back to life by Kingdom Hearts, he had the strongest connection to the entity. It showed him strange things he didn't understand and spoke in riddles no one could decode. We also learned it made Roxas very weak, sometimes bed ridding him for a week at a time. Only six days after the defeat of Xemnas and it felt like we were already losing something again._

_ We sought out as much information as we could to help make Roxas stronger. So far, the research has come up empty. I pray we might find an answer in one of the worlds we have to visit on Demyx's pilgrimage, yet I may just be aspiring for something that does not simply exist. Whether it does or not, I will continue to pray Kingdom Hearts leaves my dear friend alone._

_ For borrowed strength can only go so far._

XxXxX

When he cracked open his eyes, he found himself staring at a blurry red image hovering over his face. Roxas blinked and tried to bring his eyes into focus. As his vision cleared, he found an extremely worried Axel sitting beside his bed. It only took a few seconds before Roxas felt the worry crush his insides like a vice, making him feel more nauseous than he already was. Axel must have noticed the excess strain on the blonde as he quickly took a calming deep breath to ease the emotions flooding through him.

"How are you feeling?" Axel asked softly. Roxas experimented on flexing various muscles in his body to see if they would respond. Thankfully, they all moved on command, although the moves were stiff and lethargic.

"I'd say okay at best," the blonde replied, feeling rather sleepy. He blinked his heavy eyes, desperately trying to stay awake all the while feeling his body tug him back towards sleep.

"You gave Cloud quite the shock," Axel stated, brushing the loose hair out of Roxas's face. "Whatever it is that binds you so tightly to Kingdom Hearts is starting to scare us. Each time you collapse we honestly don't know if you're ever going to wake up. What if it decides that it doesn't want to keep you alive anymore?" Roxas snaked his hand from under the sheets and reached his fingers out until they brushed Axel's knee. The red head clasped his hands around the younger man's. As he looked into the bicolored orbs, his heart clenched tightly despite the gentle smile Roxas offered him.

"I'll be alright," the Twilight soldier reassured him. "We'll find some way to make this better while we're out visiting the other worlds."

Axel gave Roxas's hand a squeeze. "I hope so. Naminé can't lose her brother and I can't lose a friend. The worlds need you, Roxas, and not just for your light."

The blonde chuckled weakly. "Thanks. I'll do my best." Axel nodded and placed Roxas's hand back on the bed. Then he stood and pushed his chair against the wall.

"Get some rest. We have an early start tomorrow and I know how tired those encounters with Kingdom Hearts make you," the red head stated. He flashed Roxas a smile before shutting the door gently behind him. A long exhale was released from the blonde as he tried to center his thoughts. Kingdom Hearts was talking in riddles again, although he never understood why it couldn't just give him a straight answer, and the last time it had spoken was over two years ago when Demyx vanished.

'_I wonder if it's related to the quest we're going on,' _Roxas pondered. '_Maybe there's something out there similar to Kingdom Hearts that I'm tied to. I really hope not.'_ The blonde closed his eyes and felt sleep nag at the back of his brain. He simply let the feeling take over him, bringing him back to the realm of unconsciousness all while his mind swirled with thoughts of the past resurfacing.

XxXxX

When Roxas woke it was before sunrise as there was barely even a trickle of light coming through the space between his curtains. He sighed in his head, wishing his mind had adapted to the lack of war as well as Axel's. Waking up at the crack of dawn wasn't anything new, but there were some days he wished he slept in at least until after the sun broke over the horizon. Rolling over, he stared at a lonely palm tree swaying gently in an endless breeze. His mind was still turning from the message Kingdom Hearts tried to send him.

'_Who was that guy?'_ Roxas wondered. '_Some strange golden figure. I couldn't even make out anything distinguishable about it. Who were they and what do they have to do with me?'_ The blonde buried his face into his pillow and tried to focus by inhaling the musty scent of himself in the fabric. He heard a soft thump from across the hall followed by some drawers opening. Naminé was awake as well. Roxas peeked at his clock to see it was nearly six thirty. Knowing his adopted sister, she had probably been awake for several hours as she was accustomed to the night shift.

With a sigh, he pushed himself upright and let the covers slip away from his body. It was the last time he would see his bed for awhile but for once he didn't mind. Excitement began to build in his chest when he realized he was going to see all of his friends today before setting out on another life changing adventure. That thought alone had him prancing out of bed and bounding down the stairs to make breakfast.

Deciding on everyone's favorite morning treat, pancakes, he began whipping up a large bowl of batter while he heard the shower run upstairs. He started a pot of coffee and prepped all his ingredients for toppings: fruit, homemade whipped cream, chocolate syrup, honey butter. He wasn't holding back, mostly because he had to clean out of the fridge and there was nothing else in the cupboards besides the lone box of pancake mix. It wasn't long after he began making beige circles in his pan when he heard Naminé rush down the stairs with a huge smile on her face.

"It's today!" she squealed, jumping onto her brother's back and nuzzling the fluffy blonde spikes. Roxas chuckled, holding firm under the smaller girl's weight.

"I wonder if Naminé's excited?" he wondered to himself aloud, a devilish smirk pressing against his lips. The girl jumped off of Roxas and popped a strawberry into her mouth, chewing happily.

"Only a little. I get to see Kairi today!" Naminé sauntered over to the bowl of whipped cream and scooped up a huge glob with her finger.

"Don't eat all of the toppings!" Roxas scolded, brandishing his spatula at the thieving girl. Naminé merely smirked and popped the dairy treat into her mouth, sighing happily as the taste of fat and sugar coated her tongue.

"So when are we leaving?" Naminé watched her brother flip the first batch of pancakes with mild interest as her finger went in for a second dip in the whipped cream bowl. Roxas smacked the hand away with his spatula, sending the girl a scowl.

"As soon as Axel's awake and ready to go. If you're so hasty to get going, go wake him up." Naminé grinned wickedly and stormed out of the room, her footsteps thundering up the stairs. Roxas chuckled as he heard Naminé call out to Axel in a sing-song voice before the red head's door was ripped open with a bang. He could only wonder what the riled up girl would do to get her sleeping brother out of bed. There was a wild assortment of squeals and grumbled protests before Naminé trotted back downstairs with a triumphant grin on her face. Roxas rolled his eyes and set to taking the pancakes off the stove before starting a new batch.

Naminé seated herself at the table, her feet swinging under her chair as she waited patiently for her breakfast. Above the blondes' heads was a loud thump of Axel rolling out of bed followed by unpadded footsteps plodding over to his dresser. Roxas tried not to snicker as the red head's groggy emotions started to stir within his mind. Naminé caught her brother fighting back his smirk and burst into a fit of bubbly giggles.

It wasn't long before Axel was trudging down the stairs half-asleep, his pajama pants hanging low on his narrow hips. Naminé liked to teased him saying they were girly hips, but kept his chin up despite the unflattering insult. The red head plopped down in his seat and his forehead hit the table with a loud thud. Naminé poked her brother's shoulder to make sure he didn't fall asleep again as Roxas brought over plates of pancakes for the pair. The angel blonde happily piled her breakfast high with strawberries and mounds of whipped cream while Axel cracked open an eye to search for the honey butter.

Roxas finished off the batch of fluffy Frisbees before joining his family at the table. He salvaged what was left of the whipped cream, not thanks to Naminé, and poured chocolate syrup over the entire plate. They ate in silence, simply enjoying their last meal in their home for what could be as short as a few months or as long as a year.

Or maybe even never again.

By the time they finished, Axel was feeling a bit more awake and offered to do dishes, but Naminé quickly refuted as the red head needed to shower and she was already done with her morning routine. Axel agreed with a shrug, although he allowed Roxas to shower first as he still had some last minute packing to do. The trio split up to complete their morning tasks, few words exchanged as they absorbed the atmosphere around them. When Roxas stepped back into his room, a damp towel thrown over his wet hair, he paused at the sight of his wall mural. In just a few hours he would be seeing the real thing and yet he couldn't help but feel a bit of longing to remain home.

He shook the thoughts from his head and began double checking his pack. They were traveling light, meaning he only had three sets of clothes, one of which he would be wearing, a toothbrush, and a bar of soap. He had his belongings stuffed in a red, drawstring backpack with black cord acting as the straps. It was a present from Axel for his birthday, making Roxas wonder if the man could buy anything that wasn't red or black or both. Tugging the cords to close the bag, he gave his room one last glance before heading downstairs.

Waiting for him was Naminé with a pair of scissors and a sad smile on her face. Roxas sighed, tugging the towel from his head to reveal the pink ends starting to blossom into scarlet. He sat at the kitchen table and closed his eyes as his sister's fingers ran through his locks. The familiar sound of metal scraping caught his ears as trace amounts of weight left his head. While Naminé worked, Roxas could heard Axel tromp downstairs and wait patiently as the trim was completed.

"Maybe you should grow it out for once," Naminé suggested, trimming her brother's bangs.

"He may have to depending on where we end up going," Axel stated from the kitchen doorway. Roxas didn't comment and let the conversation fall. Once Naminé was finished, Roxas went to rinse his head of the loose hairs while Axel swept up the floor. Then the gathered in the living room in front of the picture hanging on the wall. The sketched faces of the trio, plus Kairi and Xion, smiled back at them while the names penned on the bottom left their hearts heavy.

Axel adjusted his backpack, which was un-shockingly black, higher on his shoulder. "We'll be back," he stated. "Keep an eye out on the place for me, Reno. If I see so much as a scratch in the paint when I get home I'm going to come up there and kick your ass." Naminé giggled, folding her hands behind her back. Her sky blue backpack was nearly stuffed to the brim. Roxas reached under his shirt and pulled out his necklace, his eyes lingering on the keyblade in his fingers.

"Watch over us, Xion," he muttered. He tucked his necklace away before casting his eyes back to the picture. "Hayner, Pence, Olette, this one's for you." The trio snapped into attention, their hands forming various salutes to their fallen comrades. Then they turned away, locked the front door, and left their home behind.

Upon reaching the G. Ship hanger, they were greeted by the Restoration Committee and a few other familiar faces. Seifer waited with his arms crossed over his chest and his gunblade on his back while a small pack sat on his lower back. He wore his signature white coat without sleeves, blue vest, black pants, and military boots, however he finally retired his old hat after Leon accidentally cut a hole in it while sparring. In contrast, the trio's clothes were less detailed. Naminé wore a white tank top with canary yellow shorts with a pair of white, knee-length leggings underneath and sturdy white boots with a short one inch heal. Roxas wore his traditional white cargo pants with black tank top and an X shaped necklace on top of his shirt, Xion's necklace safely hiding underneath the fabric. Axel stuck with a black t-shirt, pants and combat boots with three hairbands encircling his left wrist: two black, one red.

"Are we all ready to go?" Yuffie asked, positively bouncing up and down as though she was the one going.

"I believe so," Leon replied. Roxas, Axel and Naminé began their farewells to everyone gathered: Merlin, Leon, Yuffie, Cloud. Even Sephiroth had shown up, although he remained in the back, keeping his eyes locked somewhere off to the side. Ventus and his parents, Aqua and Terra, were there as well. The young keyblade wielder was beginning to grow into a confident teenager. What was even more unnerving was as he grew older he looked even more identical to Roxas, or at least to how Roxas used to appear. In another ten years the only way they would be told apart would be Roxas's teal eye.

The young teen saluted to the other three Shards with a grin. "Make sure you come back," he requested. "You need to see how good I get in another year or two. Maybe then I can be a keyblade master like my parents."

"You still have a long way to go before then," Terra interjected, ruffling his son's hair. Ven scowled and shooed his father's hand away before attempting to fix his natural cowlick.

"Now remember what we talked and trained about," Roxas reminded. "Since you're a Shard we can channel your wind elemental abilities so if you feel us tug, you have to cooperate. Okay?"

Ven nodded. "Roger! You guys are going to kick Sin's backside into the next galaxy!"

"I hope we do more than that," Axel teased. Ven chuckled and proceeded to give the trio tight embraces. Seifer let out a long sigh and climbed aboard the waiting G. Ship first while the others followed shortly after, giving their final waves to their friends. They were on their way to Hollow Bastion where their journey would finally begin.

XxXxX

Ienzo fought against the urge to riffle through his backpack again to make sure all of his clothes and belongings were still there. In the back of his mind he knew it was almost time for everyone to gather in Hollow Bastion, yet every minute felt like another year slipping by. It didn't help he couldn't actually see the time, causing him to panic until he demanded the current minute from anyone he heard passing by his room. He finally couldn't take the social isolation anymore and he vacated his room, throwing his mahogany colored pack over his shoulder, in search for his brother. Zexion was constantly busy running Hollow Bastion and the stress had definitely started to show over the past three years. The twenty five year old's chrome colored hair was started to get thin and the lines on his face deepened by the month. At a glance, he appeared to be closer to forty.

The teen wove his way through his halls, picturing them in his mind as he went. He remembered when he first moved into the castle and how utterly lost he felt trying to navigate the maze of hallways for the first few times. Feeling like a small child again, lost in the dark, was one of the worst sensations in the world. Since then, he had learned to read the energy of the castle and those threading through it to find his way.

Three years had gone by in a flash, yet it hadn't gone by fast enough. Hearing of the Enchanted Domain's demise made rage pulse silently through his veins. To Ansem's wise counsel, the brother's had a tutor brought in to teach them more advanced magic. Zexion was already fairly skilled, thanks to growing up in a time of war, but the extra knowledge shot his skills from admirable to downright scary. The man's once calm and gentle nature had all but vaporized since his defeat at the hands of Isa. When he opened his book of spells, Ienzo could feel the wrath pouring from his brother, sparking new strength in his spells to the point they were destructive. Only one ruler dared to faced Zexion in a fight, a general from the Pride Lands who simply went by Scar.

The battle left the main courtyard in ruins with Scar's corpse broken beyond saving.

Luckily, they received word Scar was a rogue from the Pride Lands and his death would not be missed. However, the toll of taking another's life seemed to hardly affect the elder brother, while Ienzo found himself very much disturbed. However, his attitude was focused more on the victor than the victim. Since then, no one dared to strike Zexion's last nerve in fear he would lash out violently. Thankfully, the King was very forgiving and it never had to come to violence.

While Zexion trained for a year under their master, a tall man with a flowing grey beard by the name of Yen Sid, Ienzo spent all three years training. He mastered the most advanced forms of every spell from fire to healing to even the advanced techniques of death and Zexion's own dark portals. Ienzo wasn't nearly as skilled as his brother, but he was one of the most advanced mages in Hollow Bastion, falling short of Yen Sid himself. Unlike the King, Ienzo didn't store his spells in a Lexicon. While having powerful magic stored up for later use, which was a huge save on energy in large scale fights, Ienzo didn't like relying on a piece of text.

That and he couldn't read.

Instead he simply used simple hand signs and incantations. Wands and scepters would help to boost his magic but should he drop his instrument it would mean groping around the ground uselessly while the fight continued on, something Ienzo never wanted to happen. Yet despite being one of the best, he felt he was lacking in terms of his party. Axel, Roxas and Naminé could channel their abilities to each other and Naminé could even boost Seifer's power. Demyx had his Aeons to aid him in battles. Yet the teenager was alone. All he could do was read a person's energy.

Shaking the gloomy thoughts from his head, Ienzo continued onward towards the upper reaches of the old castle. Castle Oblivion had been destroyed during the fight against Kingdom Hearts, although the dreadful place wasn't missed by anyone save for Vexen who had lost many years of research in the building. The lower grounds were refurbished and brought back to life like they were when Maleficent was Queen. The gaping chasm in the church was filled and they space was turned into a ballroom with beautiful gothic stained glass windows. When Ienzo opened the doors to step inside, he felt a cool warmth settle on his skin like ghosts of the past were dancing around him. Blind to his sight, the windows cast green, purple, onyx, and rose colored tints onto the floor below. He heard from the castle staff that despite the bleak color pallet, it was actually rather beautiful.

Ienzo listened to his footsteps echo on the wooden floor and his thoughts flickered back to when the large dragon ripped from its sleep three years past. How Demyx knew it was there or how he managed to summon it was never revealed, yet the teen was grateful to the summoner as the feat saved his life. He pressed through the set of double doors into the large hallway leading to the throne room. Lining the sides were large glass display cases of various armors from Radiant Garden to Twilight town to the hated Hollow Bastion Knights. It was a constant reminder of the grim history of the galaxies shared and the reason it shouldn't be forgotten.

Ienzo banked to the left and climbed the stairs two at a time. He wasn't sure why he never took the right set of stairs but the left just felt right to him. He could see his brother's aura as he crested the stairs. Zexion sat in his vast array of draping robes on the throne. Behind him was the large set of white doors, now sealed, that once lead to Castle Oblivion. They were a sharp contrast to the shaded color pallet decorating the room. Zexion's shoulder's relaxed at the sight of his brother yet his aura remained tense. Upon his head was the small gold crown bestowing his royal status, the headpiece tipped off to the left. Buried under his layers of robes and his large cloak was a simple garb complete with the lavender ascot Hollow Bastion had become known for.

In contrast to the elder sibling's rich wardrobe, Ienzo's clothes were rather plain. He wore khaki pants tucked into knee high leather boots with heavy laces and thick soles. His shirt was simple, the dark green cotton sleeves comfortable against his skin. On his right ear were four separate piercings each with two golden chains hanging from the spiked studs, creating a small curtain of gold. Matching his ears was a thin gold loop in the center of his lower lip. Zexion wasn't happy about the piercing but Ienzo believed it made him feel more mysterious, especially since at a first glance a warm color scheme didn't match his cooler external nature and hair color.

Zexion's hands squeezed together briefly before he smiled. "Ienzo, you're early," the King stated.

"I'm restless," the teen replied, coming to a halt in front of his brother. Zexion looked up into his brother's sightless eyes. The once beautiful colors of the sea had quickly faded after the boy's birth, leaving behind the pale, creamy irises behind. They were reminiscent of opals as the occasional fleck of color would peek its way through the pale.

"The other's will be here soon," Zexion reassured his brother. Ienzo averted his eyes to the side, his weight shifting from foot to foot.

"What if he doesn't come?"

Zexion sighed and pushed himself up from his throne, shrugging off the large cloak from his shoulders. The one less layer made the King seem to shrink half in size, and the man was wearing several more. He strode over to Ienzo and ushered him towards the door, keeping his sight straight ahead. Ansem had taught him well to etiquette of royalty yet Iezno wondered if his brother sometimes took it too far. Despite his rationality telling him he was wrong, the teen couldn't help but think of the dark idea festering in the back of his mind from time to time that his brother would one day turn corrupt, leaving Ienzo to take over the throne. He inquired Lexaeus about the idea when he couldn't take the overwhelming pressure anymore, yet the body guard reassured him Zexion would always do what was best for the people of Hollow Bastion. Yet the teen wasn't so sure.

Ienzo let himself be silently let down to the ground floor where they began making their way towards the G. Ship hanger just outside the grounds of the castle. Much to both of their surprise, Ansem and Yen Sid were already waiting on the edge of the landing pad when they arrived. Ienzo hiked his pack higher on to his shoulder and jogged over to his mentors.

"Morning!" he called, flashing a small smile.

"Ah, Ienzo. You look well today," Yen Sid commented with a nod.

"If it were up to me, you wouldn't be going on this fool errand," Ansem stated, his arms tucked behind his back. Then the man chuckled, brushing a loose hair into place with his thick golden locks. "But who am I to stop you? Youth have the energy to fight these wars while I merely stand back and spectate."

"I'm sure your wisdom would be most welcome anywhere you go," Ienzo replied. Ansem smiled and nodded, turning his attention back to the sky.

"They will be here soon," Yen Sid muttered, folding his hands in his large sleeves. "Are you ready for this, Ienzo?"

"More than anything," the teen stated, his face serious. Yen Sid nodded, a bright twinkle in the man's eyes. Ienzo turned his attention to the sky, yet he could feel his brother's cold aura brooding behind him. He knew Zexion was swimming with worry his only family would perish in the vain quest to defeat Sin, yet the King could not journey with his brother. He had a world to rule and many worlds were still questioning the newly crowned King's ability to lead. Abandoning Hollow Bastion to make sure his brother came home safe would only confirm the speculations of doubt.

Yen Sid held up a hand over his eyes as he peered closer to the sky. "Ah, there they are. Right on time." The man lowered his hand back to his sleeve. "I do not believe they are expecting us to be waiting for them, but I'm sure they will be glad of our welcome."

"Indeed," Ansem agreed.

The G. Ship descended onto the landing platform and the door opened to reveal a grinning Axel. The red head leapt from the ship and ruffled Ienzo's hair, Roxas and Naminé filing out of the ship after their elder friend. Seifer remained in the doorway as he had no reason to leave the ship.

"Damn, you're still short," Axel commented. Ienzo chuckled and knocked the man's hand away from his head.

"I'll have you know I grew three inches," the teen said matter-o-factly. Axel burst out laughing while Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Him and his short jokes," the blonde solider muttered.

"You all remember Ansem?" Ienzo asked, motioning to the stoic faced man. The Traverse Town travelers nodded to the man and Ansem returned the gesture. Ienzo motioned to the other elder with them. "This is master Yen Sid. He's Zexion and I's teacher."

"It's an honor to meet you all," Yen Sid stated, giving a small bow to the traveling party.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir," Roxas replied, he and Naminé bowing back. Axel and Seifer nodded their heads respectfully. The newcomers turned to the King lingering in the background and all bowed deeply, even Seifer which was a surprise.

"Thank you for having us here," Roxas stated as he rose. Zexion took a deep breath before stepping forward. Ienzo could feel the strain radiating through his brother.

The King looked to each of the four gathered, his eyes cold and full of a stinging venom. "I'm entrusting the life of my brother, the heir to the Hollow Bastion throne, and one of Hollow Bastion's best mages to you. Should he be lost and you return without him, failing your missing, you shall know no quarter," Zexion growled.

"We understand your majesty," Roxas replied. "We will see that Ienzo returns home safely, or none of us do. Although, I happen to prefer the first choice." The bright blonde smiled and managed to release some of the tension in the King's shoulders.

"So any word on Demyx?" Naminé brought up. The Hollow Bastion party shook their heads.

"Maybe he got scared and left," Seifer commented flatly.

"He wouldn't abandon his pilgrimage!" Ienzo protested, his hands curling into fists.

"We haven't heard from him in years," Zexion reasoned. The elder brother quickly silenced his voice when his brother shot him a dark look.

"Never! Demyx will come! Don't be so faithless." Ienzo turned his empty gaze to the sky. "I trust him. He'll be here."

There was a deep thrum as something pulsed through the air. The group turned their eyes skyward and squinted against the morning sun to see what was approaching. A huge, golden eagle was descending to their location. It gave off a loud cry and flapped its massive wings to slow its descent. The humans were struck with the power of the wind rushing past them and they had to lock their knees to remain standing. With a cry, the eagle landed and bowed its head to allow something to slip from its back. The bird gave off one last cry before it dissipated into a shower of golden sparks, leaving behind only the rider.

The man smirked from beneath his dark blue hood. Then he flipped the fabric back and grinned brilliantly, giving the group a wave. "Hey guys!" Demyx called.

"Holy shit, what was that thing?" Axel gaped.

"One of my new summons. I'll tell you about it later." Demyx wandered over to join the group. The man still had the same quirky disposition about him and his even stranger haircut. Yet there were small changes to the summoner that were hard not to notice. For one, Demyx's hair was white, displaying his Atlantian status. More blue tattoos were sprinkled over the skin exposed on his arms and there was a mark over his right eye like a scar. His clothes were light, a white tank top with a dark blue scarf wrapped around his next that could be used as a hood. The man's chain earring was still present and the free end was buried in the sea of deep blue fabric around his neck.

Demyx wore a pair of black shorts, the left leg ending above his knee and the right leg below. A pair of heavy belts wrapped around the man's waist with various pouches and satchels laced on them. He wore a pair of simple sandals, his tan feet matching the rest of his skin tone. Along his back was his sitar, which he used both as a summoning staff and a hidden battle axe if the situation arose. Along his forearms he wore leather bracers that thronged into a glove he wore on his right hand, the finger tips cut off to allow him to play his sitar.

"About time you got here," Axel said sarcastically, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I had to reacquaint myself with my summoner abilities. I've been away praying at temples, talking to other summoners and getting new Aeons," Demyx explained. "It wasn't something you could help me with. I had to face this alone. But I've come to the point where I need the support of my guardians to lead me on the rest of my pilgrimage." The summoner looked to each of his guardians in turn. "So, we ready?"

"Hold on!" Axel interrupted. He pulled off his pack and dug around until he produced a bunch of royal purple fabric. He began passing pieces of the fabric out to pilgrimage party.

Naminé held hers up and chuckled. "Axel, did you sew these yourself?" she asked.

"Of course!" Axel handed on of the pieces of fabric to Zexion before stuffing the extra's back in his bag. "I needed to make something to show we were a team." Zexion held up the fabric to find it was actually an arm band. A golden sun was emblazoned on the royal purple background. The King frowned as it felt familiar somehow but he couldn't place why.

"An interesting choice," Ansem stated, noting the armband in the King's hands. "The Radiant Garden royal family crest."

"This was the crest of the royal family?" Roxas gaped, turning to his red headed friend.

Axel wrapped the band around his bicep and tightened it off with a knot. "Okay, so I'm not super original," the man grumbled.

"Princess Rapunzel was proud of her family," Naminé recalled. "We had banners like this blazoned on the streets when the festivals came around." She began helping others tie their bands onto their biceps while Zexion continued to stare at the piece of fabric.

"Why so many extras?" Seifer asked, tying on his own band with the use of his teeth.

"In case our party grows," Axel reasoned. "You never know if we may pick up a person or two along the way who also wants to destroy Sin."

"I never thought of that," Ienzo marveled. He wished he could see the crest on the band, but he could tell Axel had put a lot of care into creating it. The teen was grateful when Roxas aided him in tying the fabric around his arm. It was as though they were truly binding themselves together as a team.

"You'd all best get going," Yen Sid reminded before the group could get too distracted. "You still have to get to Destiny Islands before your first Temple and I know the Queen would not appreciate you being late." Demyx gave the man a curt nod before turning to the G. Ship. Seifer slipped back to his seat while the Traverse Town group followed Demyx into the ship.

Ienzo turned to his brother and threw his arms around the man tightly. Zexion hugged back, hot tears dripping down his face. "I'll come back to you, I promise," Ienzo whispered.

"I know you will," Zexion replied, squeezing his brother tighter. He held his brother at arms-length and smiled faintly. Ienzo smiled back, before heading to the G. Ship. He turned as he reached the doorway and waved at the trio of men standing on the edge of the landing pad. His eyes caught the sight of them waving faintly back, filling his heart with a whirlwind of emotions. Then he stepped into the G. Ship and the door shut behind him.

"Ready to go?" Roxas asked. Ienzo nodded and made his way to his seat. It was finally his time to rise up and help his friends. They were off to defeat Sin, an unbeatable feat.

They just had to make it out alive.

**A/N-A cookie to those who can figure out Demyx's summon. X)**


	3. 3-Atlantis

**A/N-Mmmmmmm, yeah I'm a bit late. :S Sorry guys. There was a lot going on between work, me spraining my ankle (like a complete idiot I might add) and trying to find motivation to write. Also, blame the many video games I used as a distractions (looking at you Guild Wars 2 and Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright). Huge thank you to the Madoka Magica soundtrack for getting me back on my feet with writing motivation. :D (It's awesome, go listen to it already!). Until then, read and enjoy! (I make no guarantees when I'll update again….) *Puts on headphones* *Gets to work with Nightcore Remixes***

_Atlantis. Demyx's home world._

_ After so many years of hearing about the fabled place, I would finally get to experience it. Would we be welcome? Would the Atlantians turn us away because Demyx was shunned from his own home due to his ability to summon Sin? Yet before we could start our pilgrimage we needed the Queen's blessing. Atlantis was home to one of the Sacred Temples and nestled inside beyond the Cloister of Trials was one of the Sacred Aeons. Unlike regular Aeons, the Sacred Aeons were more powerful and it was the ordeal of the summoner to gather all of the Sacred Aeons in order to combine their power to summon the Final Aeon._

_ That was the key to defeat Sin._

_ If we didn't get all of the Sacred Aeons, our journey will be a waste. The seven Aeons blessed by the first summoner, Yu Yevon, were vital to our success. How were we supposed defeat the destroyer of worlds if we already lacked the trust of one we needed most?_

XxXxX

"I see them!" Sora shouted, pointing at the G. Ship descending into Destiny Island airspace. Riku put a hand over his eyes to shield out the bright sunlight, a light smile playing with his lips.

"Ooh, I wish they'd hurry up!" Kairi complained, the excitement to see her sister bubbling out of her as she eagerly awaited the group's arrival.

"I hope we get to help them! I mean, we all have our abilities to channel to Axel, Roxas, and Naminé so I hope we get to use it sometime." Riku sighed and punched Sora on the shoulder, causing the brunette to stagger forwards a step.

"I would rather have them not rely on us at all," the elder reasoned. "They're strong on their own and if they rely on us all of the time they'll start doubting themselves."

"Oh, I suppose you have a point," Sora mused, tapping his finger under his lips. Kairi giggled as Riku sighed for a second time and shook his head in bemusement.

The G. Ship lowered to the wide expanse of beach where the docks were located. The company wouldn't be staying long in the world as they had to hurry along to Atlantis but those from the Islands didn't mind. They were happy they were even blessed with a proper send off. Eyes were glued to the G. Ship as it gently lowered down upon the sand. As the door opened, Kairi ran forward with a squeal as she and her sister jumped into each other's arms, both hopping around like rabbits as they failed to contain their excitement. Axel and Roxas exited next and Riku noted the later looked a bit worse for the wear. Roxas's skin was paler than normal and there were signs of strain under his eyes. The silverette pursed his lips but decided it wasn't wise to press the Soldier on the matter before he was about to set off on a stressful journey.

Ienzo hopped off the ship next and ran over to the male pair of the Islands. He embraced both Sora and Riku equally with a bright grin and it wasn't long until Sora was bombarding the teen with a million questions. Seifer hopped off the ship next and quietly shifted towards the sisters chatting excitedly. It was no secret he had taken a liking towards the vibrant red headed sister, although Kairi made sure the Soldier was kept in line at all times with her commanding attitude. She also threatened to never speak to the man again if anything happened to Naminé. So, despite his distaste, he continued to be by Naminé's side, although he soon grew to even like the trio of refugees on the outskirts of Traverse Town. Fighting alongside Naminé was easy to get used to as well as the angelic blonde was keen to keep out of Seifer's way and provide support when needed.

Last to step out of the ship was Demyx and an uneasy silence fell over the beach. All eyes had turned to him as the white haired summoner kept his gaze locked on the ground somewhere to his right. Axel clapped him on the shoulder but Riku noticed Demyx flinched as the red head did so. Something was bothering the summoner and the Militia Captain had a feeling it had something to do with their soon to be visit with Atlantis.

The Destiny Island trio led their visitors along the beach towards the homes splattered along the coast. They spotted other various locals they recognized from their previous visit, such as Tidus and Wakka, mingling along the beach. With the threat of Xemnas no longer present, Destiny Island resumed its previous economy of fishing and exotic fruit farming. It brought in much needed income and trade from the other worlds, breathing new life into the outer rim world.

While they strode along, Ienzo couldn't help but feel they were being watched. He scanned the line of homes to their left and noticed a strong aura amongst the others on the edge of the beach where the sands met the trees. Silently, he let himself fall behind and he jogged towards the person. From the conversation he could hear from his companions, it didn't appear they noticed his leave. Ienzo slowed his approached as he came before the strong presence. Being polite, he gave them a small bow. The figure giggled, alerting Ienzo the person was female.

"You are a mage," she noted.

"Yes, ma'am. I take it you are also one?" the teen pressed.

"Indeed, however I mostly delve into black magic. Are you aware of the various mages?"

Ienzo frowned. "I was not aware there were special types of mages." The woman chuckled and shifted her weight. Ienzo could heal metal clinking against each other as well as various types of fabric rubbing against each other. It made the teen wonder what she was wearing.

"That's because specialized mages have all nearly been forgotten. The age of the mages was before Xemnas and the war, as well as when summoners were far more prominent as well. Do you know the types of magic?"

"Sure: elemental, healing, status and time. All spells fall under one of those four areas."

"Very good." The woman shifted again and Ienzo managed to catch her flicking her head, most likely to flick her hair aside. "Back then mages specialized in these areas respectively: black, white, green and time. There were also two special types of mages that focused their skills in other aspects. First was the red mage, one who could use black and white in equal value, although they never reached the full power of those who were specifically their class. Then there was the blue mage. They were unique as they did not use any other the other four practices. Instead, they used their enemy's power and spells against them."

Ienzo's eyes widened. "You mean more than just protect and reflect?" The woman muttered her affirmation. "That must take unbelievable amounts of training. You'd have to be able to read your opponent's every move."

"Exactly, which is why I feel you should pursue this path," the woman stated. The teen was extremely taken aback to the point he had to take a step backwards. "You are able to read a person's light and darkness, my Prince. That in itself is a gift. If you are to channel this ability back towards your enemies than you could be more than you could ever imagine."

"But that's not how I fight! I'd rather use elemental and healing magic in unison," Ienzo protested.

The woman shifted her weight again, the metal jingling almost eerily. "That may be, but look at you compared to your brother. Who is the stronger mage?" The teen felt a small stab in his chest. He cast his face towards the ground, his lips forming into a frown.

"My brother. That's because he could be a black mage, correct?"

"Indeed. Black will always overshadow red." Ienzo felt his chin being raised to look the woman in her eyes, even though all he saw was a swirling aura of light and darkness where her head was located. "But blue will always be equal to or greater than any other mage." Ienzo felt the woman grab his hand and slip something onto his finger. A ring of some sorts. "Be brave, my Prince," the woman whispered in his ear before releasing his hand. She stood up straight as the sound of running footsteps approached them. Ienzo could feel Sora's vibrant aura spread a bit of warmth through him without the teen ever seeing the man's smile.

"Hey! We were wondering where you got off to!" Sora exclaimed, slowing to a jog before stopping altogether next to the pair. "Oh! Lulu! I didn't know you were out today. I see you met Ienzo."

"Yes," Lulu said with a nod. What Ienzo couldn't see was a tall, curvy woman in a heavy dress towering over him. Her long black hair was rolled into dreads with several ornate pins and combs adorning her pony tail. Around her waist and all down her dress was a series of belts interwoven together, many of which appeared to be of foreign origin. "I was just curious to see how our new mage was progressing," the woman said with a smile, making Sora grin.

"You're being awfully nice today, Lulu," the brunette said with a chuckle. "Usually you're ready to chew my ear off."

"Not today. We have more important matters to worry about," Lulu replied. Her eyes shifted beyond the males to the group walking back along the beach towards the G. Ship. "You'd best get moving, Ienzo, before you are left behind."

"Time to go, scamp." Sora put an arm around Ienzo's shoulders and began to steer him away.

"Thank you for your insight," the teen called out before he was led away. Lulu did not reply. She simply smiled gently, as if she knew something the others didn't, and gave the males a nod. As Sora ushered the teen towards his friends, Ienzo lowered his voice to a whisper. "There's something strange about her I can't make out."

"That's Lulu for you. She's actually the target of Wakka's affection, although it was Wakka's brother she was going to marry, yet he sadly died in the war with Xemnas before you ever showed up here. She's kind of cryptic and half of the time it feels like she's the only one that really knows what's going on." Sora glanced back at where Lulu had been standing to find the woman had vanished. "She can be strict and motherly, but watch what she says around you. Sometimes she's a little too prophetic for our liking." The Militia sealed his lips as they caught up with the rest of the group, making Ienzo wonder what made Lulu so interesting.

And why he couldn't read her aura of light and darkness like he could everyone else.

XxXxX

The flight from Destiny Islands to Atlantis was unnervingly quiet. Roxas was piloting the G. Ship with Axel sitting quietly in the copilot seat, his acid green eyes scanning over the various readings they were getting as they flew. Naminé stared out of her window with somber expression on her delicate features while Seifer appeared to be sleeping, even though everyone knew he was only pretending. Demyx sat in one of the back seats with his back turned to the others. No one spoke to the summoner as they knew nothing they said would be able to console the man in what he was going to face in Atlantis. Ienzo sat quietly in the back reading one of the books he had brought with. It was in braille, which he was ever grateful for as it was one of the few books on magic written for the blind. Yen Sid had to search for over a year to find the first book and over the course of his years of training, all they could manage to scrounge up was three tomes of magic basics. Ienzo knew the books by heart yet running his fingers over the miniature hemispheres soothed his frazzled nerves.

As he turned the page, his ears picked up on a comment Axel made to Roxas. The red head was worried about Roxas's condition, which only made the teen all the more nervous. Ever since Roxas had been revived by Kingdom Hearts, the blonde's aura had changed. There was still the overwhelming presence of light from both the Soldier and the light of Kingdom Hearts residing inside of him, yet the man's aura seemed unstable. The best way Ienzo could picture it was a man wrapped in chains slowly being drawn tighter and tighter until they would one day squeeze the life from their victim. Kingdom Hearts may have brought Roxas back to life, but that didn't mean it would continue to keep the blonde alive.

"So what's with the dots?" Ienzo nearly jumped to the ceiling at the sound of Seifer's voice. The teen stammered a garbled reply while the Soldier arched an eyebrow warily. "Just a simple question, kid."

"Um, uh, sorry. You caught me lost in thought," Ienzo apologized. He smoothed out his page and took a deep breath to calm himself. "It's braille. Each series of dots represents a letter and I'm able to reach it by touch."

Seifer craned his arm around and snatched the book from Ienzo's grasp. He ran his calloused finger over the page with a frown. "I don't feel anything different. It's just a bunch of bumps." The man handed the book back a bit too roughly for the silver haired teen's liking.

"You may see it that way, but when you lose one of your senses your others have to make up for it. You may have noticed it yourself," Ienzo stated, motioning towards the man's eye. Seifer was wearing his eye patch as there was no sunlight in space and the special eye Naminé had given him through Kingdom Hearts could only see with the use of sunlight. Artificial light made the eye's vision fuzzy at best.

The man grunted and turned back around in his chair, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "Can't say I have," Seifer muttered. Ienzo frowned and returned to his book. Yet no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get himself to concentrate again. After several minutes of holding his finger in the middle of the page, he shut the tome and returned it to his backpack.

A few minutes later, Axel commented they were approaching Atlantis. Ienzo glanced out of the window to see a world mixed in pale blue light with bits of darkness curling inside of it like water. It actually looked quite beautiful, yet he wished he could see what the world looked like in its physical form. As the G. Ship entered the air space, they found most of the world was covered in water. Axel checked the radar and found there were actually ruins beneath the waves they soared over. They were part of Atlantis until the world sent itself to the bottom of the sea in desperation to hide from Xemnas.

Unfortunately, the Sacred Temple was down there as well.

"How are we supposed to find the Temple in so much water?" Naminé wondered aloud as they flew over the calm waves.

"We'll need to speak with the Queen," Demyx spoke up, turning to face the front of the ship. "She'll know the relative location of where the Temple was and then we'll start our search from there."

"What if she doesn't tell us?" Axel asked hypothetically.

The summoner took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "Then either we look for it on our own or we fail before we even begin." The gloomy silence that followed was enough for anyone to lose their fighting spirit, yet Naminé jumped to her feet with her fists clenched in front of her chest.

"We can't give up! We'll find the Sacred Temple and the Sacred Aeon. Then we'll be one step closer to defeating Sin!" The girl pumped one of her fists into the air. "Who's with me?!" she cheered.

"Count me in," Roxas commented with a chuckle.

Axl grinned and flashed his adopted sister a thumbs up. "Hell yes!" he shouted. Demyx looked a bit relieved by Naminé's confidence. He turned to Ienzo, who gave him a reassuring nod, and felt a bit of pressure release from his shoulders.

"Alright. Let's go meet the Queen," the summoner stated.

The ship flew onwards towards an island in the middle of the ocean. Water cascaded downward into a vast chasm of lava, creating misty plumes of steam to shroud the city behind it. As they flew through the mist, their anticipation grew. Then the air cleared and they were able to see Atlantis in its full glory. Large stone guardians stood watch on the outer ring of the city while towers of stone stood erect throughout the clusters of homes. In the center was the large, open roofed palace where the royal family resided.

Roxas slowed their approach, listing the G. Ship towards the large courtyard on the front side of the city. Many of the locals stopped what they were doing to watch the Ship descend towards their home, some of which looked rather frightened. The group wasn't prepared for a warm welcome and as they feared they weren't going to get one. As the Ship landed onto the courtyard, several guards began to march towards the newcomers, weapons held high in their hands.

"Happy faces, everyone," Axel muttered darkly before rising from his seat. Everyone else followed the elder's lead and shuffled over to the door. Seifer opened the hatch and stepped out first, his presence quickly putting the guards on their toes. Ienzo stepped off second, helped off the ship by Seifer, and stepped aside to let Demyx depart. Instantly, the tension increased tenfold as the Atlantian returned home. The Traverse Town trio stepped off last while Demyx spoke quietly to the guards in a foreign tongue. Yet it seemed no matter what the summoner said, the guards would not ease up on the party.

After several minutes of countering arguments back and forth, the group was told they were to follow them to the palace where they were to speak with the Queen. Ienzo could see the stress churning the summoner's aura like a storm at sea. He gave the man a gentle, reassuring nudge. Demyx flashed the teen a sad smile before returning his eyes to the pavement. He pulled the bit of dark blue fabric over his head to shroud his identity from nearby onlookers as the unwanted attention was making Demyx nauseous.

Roxas and Axel exchanged glances as they strode in the rear of the group. As beautiful as Atlantis was, the cold atmosphere was far from welcoming. Yet the pair couldn't blame them as they were just as wary of strangers coming to Traverse Town after their personal experiences with the war. They were led along the main street up to the palace in silence, the guards never lowering their weapons the entire way. It put Roxas on edge, yet he knew as soon as he tried to bring out his swords for reassurance it would only cause more problems. His saving grace was Axel as the red head was surprisingly calm amongst all of the tension. Roxas reveled in the air of subtle tranquility as it was probably the only thing keeping him sane at the moment.

They reached the large doors of the palace and they were opened to reveal a large pool of water with oddly arranged stepping stones. Across the room was a large chair where it appeared someone could recline, however it stood empty. The group was ushered across the pond on the stepping stones. Seifer and Naminé helped Ienzo get across without him falling into the water, much to the teen's thanks. The guards dispersed as the group gathered in front of the large chair.

Then they waited.

A nervous tension filled the large space to the point even the occasional sound of water dripping into the pond made the hair on the back of their necks stand on end. Several minutes passed before the doors to the palace were opened again, revealing a tall woman with a proud disposition. Demyx instantly dropped to his knees and kept his face turned away towards the ground. The others exchanged looks before kneeling respectively as the Queen approached. Ienzo glanced at the Queen's aura and found it was swirling with the same blue light as the world itself. In fact, he noticed everyone in Atlantis had the same light blue color to their light. Yet when he glanced back at Demyx, he noticed the summoner did not have such a light. His was near colorless, as if Atlantis itself had rejected him from his birth home.

The Queen sat down on the chair and crossed her legs, folding her hands upon her knees. She eyed the group carefully before speaking. "You may stand," she stated. The group rose to their feet, however Demyx remained on his knees. A frown plagued the Queen's tranquil features. She shifted slightly in her seat, her blue robes whispering silently with her movement. "So, you have returned home, Edym Myæde," the Queen noted. Demyx flinched at the sound of his name. The Queen turned to the others and raised her chin a fraction of an inch. She introduced herself, although her name was far too complex for anyone to catch. Luckily she asked them to call her Kida. "What brings you back home? You know you were banished from Atlantis."

"Aye, my Queen," Demyx replied softly. "I have come to ask for your forgiveness and for your guidance. I have chosen to accept my fate as a summoner and take on the quest to destroy Sin."

Kida raised an eyebrow curiously. "You wish to destroy the very thing you wrought upon the worlds?" she asked. Demyx muttered his agreement. Kida switched her legs around so they were crossed in the opposite direction. "I see. Tell me, Edym, are you responsible for the destruction of Radiant Garden, Twilight Town and the Enchanted Domain?" Silence followed as the Queen waited for her answer. Roxas glanced down at Demyx and found the man was trembling from head to toe. The summoner swallowed thickly before replying.

"Not directly, my Queen." The Queen's frown deepened. "However, I will put the blame on myself as it was Xehanort that saw me summon Sin that day and he was the one who invented the devises to summon Sin to destroy Radiant Garden and Twilight Town."

"And what of the Enchanted Domain?" Kida pressed, pursing her lips.

"I should feel relieved in knowing I was not related to that incident, however I still feel as though I am partially responsible."

"You didn't destroy the Enchanted Domain!" Ienzo protested. "Don't beat yourself over it!"

"Do you know the history of Sin?" Kida snapped at the teen, causing Ienzo to shrink back.

"Not fully. I understand summoners have been trying to destroy Sin for hundreds of years and no one has yet succeeded, although Lord Braska came close," the mage stated.

"That is true. Lord Braska came the closest than any other summoner. He managed to summon the Final Aeon, which only a handful has ever been able to do in the past, yet it was not enough. Before he could strike the finishing blow he was overpowered. Much to the world's relief, the damage to Sin was great enough for the creature to go into a sleep in order to recover from its injuries. During this time the war with Xemnas began and summoners died off. Yet it seems Sin finally regained enough energy and is back to wreaking havoc on the worlds, as seen with the Enchanted Domain," Kida explained. "You realize what will happen if you fail."

"We are prepared to face the consequences," Naminé replied, her voice full of confidence. The girl's reply made the Queen smile.

"I see." Kida rose from her seat and stepped over to the group. "On your feet, Demyx." The summoner raised his head to look his Queen in the eye. Then he slowly climbed to his feet, confusion written all over his features. "I have heard your deeds and your sacrifice during the final battle against Xemnas. My father was the one that banished you, yet I do not hold the same grudge he does. You saved our people that day, despite you summoning the greatest evil in all of the worlds." Kida placed a hand on Demyx's chest and she held up the crystal hanging around her neck. It was identical to the one Demyx was wearing, although the summoner's was a bit duller in color as though it had been drained of life.

Naminé gasped as the marks on Demyx's body began to glow with the Queen's crystal. Demyx closed his eyes as a distant feeling overwhelmed his system, his spirit rebinding with the life force of Atlantis. His crystal began to regain its color before it glowed just as brightly as the one in the Queen's hand. Then the light faded and Kida removed her hand from the man's chest, a light smile on her features.

"May Atlantis guide you on your quest, Demyx. Welcome to Atlantis."

For the first time ever, a new spark flickered in the man's eyes. It was as if he were completely renewed with life. Demyx bowed deeply to his Queen, thanking her for her blessing. Kida nodded and turned to the others.

"The Sacred Temple has been lost beneath the waves, however you may find it yet. Let the crystal be your guide," Kida stated, touching the crystal on Demyx's chest. She turned and spoke to a guard in her local tongue, sending the guard away in a hurry. "I will send you with a guide to navigate the waters. May you find what you are looking for." The Queen gave the group a gentle bow, to which everyone reciprocated, before the party was led towards another side of Atlantis.

Despite the groups overwhelming excitement over the Queen's decision to help them, they kept silent as they were led to an area splattered with various docks and boats. Despite Demyx's reinstatement into Atlantis, he kept his hood up as the locals continued to give him dark glares. They walked to a far dock where a strange looking boat, shaped like a ribbed brown fish with yellow glass on the front and portholes on the sides, was sitting in the calm harbor. On the dock was lanky looking man with raggedy hair, oversized glasses, and an Atlantian crystal around his neck. He introduced himself as Milo, a friend of Kida's. Apparently he was from another world but stayed behind in Atlantis after helping Kida fend off a group of greedy explorers Milo was tricked into helping to discover what he called the "Heart of Atlantis". At the news, Demyx looked like he was ready to smash someone over the head with his sitar, however Milo was able to reassure the summoner the "Heart of Atlantis" was safe. Demyx calmed his disposition and quietly thanked Milo for his effort to keep his home protected.

"So you're looking for the Sacred Temple, right?" Milo asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah. We're hoping to find the Sacred Aeon there," Roxas explained. Milo nodded thoughtfully and adjusted his glasses.

"Sounds intense. I've been doing some side research on the ruins of Atlantis to find any information that had been lost since the flood. With Kida's help, we managed to pinpoint a location where the Sacred Temple might be, although we haven't been able to say for sure." Milo adjusted his glasses and chuckled nervously. "Um, it's being guarded by a large machine known as the Leviathan. I actually ran into it when I was looking for Atlantis, before the city returned to the surface that is, and it killed over seventy percent of our crew and equipment."

Milo looked to Demyx but the man shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't really remember much. I'm not as old as the other Atlantians," Demyx apologized. He looked down at his hands with somber eyes. "When I was banished, I lost my connection with the Heart and I began to age like a normal human. My memory is fuzzy at best of the time before we sank beneath the waves." He raised his head to apologize again, yet Milo gave him a smile instead.

"It's okay. From what Kida tells me the Leviathan was one of the sky guardians, like the stone figures aligned around the city, only it used to fly over the part of the city that contained the Sacred Temple. Even after the flood it continues to protect its land from invaders, although it's a bit corrupted as now it won't even let Atlantians close to the area where the Temple resides," Milo explained.

"So how do we get close then?" Ienzo asked.

"We'll have to avoid the Leviathan as much as we can. If we get caught, prepare for a messy getaway."

"We have magic on our side," Roxas reminded the anxious teen. Ienzo nodded, his confidence in their mission returning. Milo ushered them onto the ship, which was actually a submarine, and they squeezed inside the small space while Milo worked the controls. As the sub dived below the waves, their ears began to pop as the ship equalized the pressure around them.

It was quite the long trip as they had to dive through an old volcanic tunnel to reach the main body of the ocean. Lava glowed brightly beneath them, turning up the temperature in the ship at least eighty degrees. By the time they reached the ocean, everyone was wiping sweat from their faces with drenched shirts. Milo turned on the lights to allow the foreigners to look at the old ruins of Atlantis. Crumbled buildings and empty streets lay beneath them in hallowed silence, the ghosts of the lives lost swimming around in the depths of darkness.

"So this is where the area begins where we think the Sacred Temple might be," Milo stated, hiding his nervousness with a heavy swallow of thick saliva.

"How big can it be?" Axel asked. They glided slowly over a ridge and the city expanded before them in a large expanse of homes sprinkled with larger buildings used for business. Axel bit his tongue as the stretch of land went far beyond the sub's beams.

"Shouldn't we turn off the lights?" Naminé asked, glancing up from her window.

"It won't matter. The Leviathan detects the sub through what we think is some sort of sonar system. Luckily, it's pretty short ranged so if we take the long way around it, it won't notice us," Milo replied.

"And how are we supposed to see it? It's darker than black down here," Seifer complained.

"That's just it. You don't know it's there until it's almost too late. Sometimes, if we're lucky, we can pick it up on the external microphones as it moves around," the guide noted.

Ienzo's fingers dug into the fabric of his pants. "And if we're not lucky?" he dared to ask.

"Try not to think about it," Milo replied quietly, ending the conversation there.

They journeyed onward, everyone keeping a close eye out for any sign of the Leviathan. Milo tasked Ienzo with listening to the sounds on the external microphone as the teen was most likely to pick up any out of the ordinary noises from the sea of white sounds created by moving currents. Ienzo closed his eyes and listened carefully to each sound coming through his headphones, concentrating purely on his ears. No one spoke in fear their words would alert the beast in knowing they were nearby.

Minutes crawled by like hours. Naminé nearly jumped through the roof as a fish swam by her window and Axel failed to hold a yelp as Roxas sneezed next to him. By the time Milo announced they had reached the center of the living area, everyone was cramping up from tensing their muscles and sitting in the sub's tiny chairs.

"So what are we looking for exactly?" Roxas asked quietly. "Is there some sort of landmark or building feature we should be keeping an eye out for?"

"It's hard to say. Sacred Temples are each unique in appearance based on the Aeon within it," Demyx replied in a muffled tone as to not interrupt Ienzo's concentration.

"And I take it no one alive remembers what it looks like?" Roxas pressed. Demyx shook his head, making the Soldier frown as he returned to scanning the bottom of the ocean for some sort of clue to where the Temple was located.

"There!" Naminé suddenly cried out, pointing off to the left farther ahead. She quickly clapped her hands over her mouth and glanced out all of the windows in case the Leviathan suddenly appeared out of the gloom. Where she had pointed was a larger structure off center amongst a large courtyard. Milo turned the sub towards the direction of the building and shifted the lights so they cast a better view.

"Shit, move!" Ienzo called out. Milo pulled back just at the right second as a giant laser, created out of converging streams of ice blue lightning, swept in front of their path, nearly taking the sub with it in the process. "I didn't even hear it until just now," Ienzo defended.

"Well, good catch because it kept us alive about six seconds longer," Milo replied, gritting his teeth as he pushed the sub into full speed.

"Naminé," Roxas called out. The girl nodded and held out her hand, her keyblade appearing in a shower of sparkles. Roxas stood in the middle of the sub and put his hands on the walls. A soft yellow glow shrouded over the little sub, the Soldier's light creating a shield to protect their only way of getting to the Temple. Naminé began channeling her magic while Ienzo listened carefully to the external microphones. As the Leviathan moved, it created an eerie combination of grinding metal and groans. Ienzo desperately tried to pinpoint the beast's location but it was as if the sound was surrounding them.

"There!" Axel called out, pointing above them. Milo turned the steering wheel hard as another laser rained down on them. Roxas gritted his teeth as he tried to remain standing, his adopted sister steadying him from behind. The group got a better look at the Leviathan as Milo turned sharply in a left handed corkscrew. It was reminiscent of a large crawfish except its mechanical yellow eyes glared daggers at the tiny sub, rage grinding at the beast's gears.

"Ienzo, help protect the sub. Seifer and I will keep an eye on the Leviathan!" Axel called out. The teen shouted his agreement and swapped seats with the red head. Naminé slammed the tip of her keyblade on the floor of the sub, shouting a protect spell. The Leviathan's laser slammed into the side of the sub, sending them completely off course as they were shoved sideways. Demyx was slammed into the wall, hitting his head in the process. His brain became foggy as he tried to concentrate on the situation at hand, yet something quickly caught his attention. His fingers hesitantly lifted the crystal from his chest, the faint glow reflecting in the man's eyes.

Before he could say they were close to the Temple, Demyx was tossed out of his seat into Seifer's lap as the sub was hit with a large current. Roxas staggered but held firm with his grip on the supports on the sub. Naminé and Ienzo cast simultaneous protect spells as the laser slammed into the side of the sub again. Milo barely managed to steer the sub around the beast's sweeping claws.

"Reflect!" Ienzo shouted, casting the barrier in front of the sub. The next laser bounced off of the spell and slammed into the Leviathan's face. Axel flinched as a near ear splitting screech filled his headphones followed by the sound of grinding metal. Seifer roughly pulled Demyx from his lap and tossed the summoner into his seat, the ivory haired man yelping as he slammed into the hard metal chair.

"Hang on!" Milo called out, pushing the sub to the point small alarms started going off. They dove straight for the building resting on the ocean floor. Demyx watched as his necklace grew brighter and brighter as they drew nearer, yet his excitement was quickly quelled by the fact they could very well end up dead if the Leviathan decided to attack them while they were in the Temple. Naminé and Ienzo cast protect again, yet the sub was shoved downward suddenly to the point their stomachs leapt into their throats. The sub bounced off of the roof of a taller building, the sound of scraping metal making their ears flinch.

Roxas gasped as he felt a tremendous increase in pressure from the base of the sub. He dropped the light shield so it was concentrated at the base, sweat beading on his forehead. He faintly heard Axel call out for him but the Soldier pushed through the strain, his focus purely on keeping water from rushing into the space they were sitting in. Ienzo threw up a reflect spell as they barely dodged the lightning aimed at their side. Naminé shifted her keyblade, turning it sideways as if she were turning it in a lock, and changed her stance.

"Haste!" she cried. Milo felt the sub shoot forward as their speed nearly doubled.

Seifer glanced out one of the windows and jerked back as the glass cracked. "I suggest you get somewhere safe or we're going to die real fast," the Captain called out.

"Working on it!" Milo grunted, spinning around another round of lightning lasers.

"Anyone know any status spells? Like darkness?" Axel asked the group in the back.

"Sorry, no!" Naminé called out.

"Same!" Ienzo shouted, casting another reflect on the rear of the sub.

"I could do it," Roxas grunted, "but I'm a bit preoccupied…"

"I'm on it!" Naminé replied. She spun about face and closed her eyes, drawing energy directly from Roxas's light magic. She felt a warm glow flow through her veins as light filled her with a plethora of wonderful emotions, yet she ignored them completely. She awkwardly raised her keyblade, nearly taking out Seifer's head and Roxas's arm in the process, and focused her energy outside the sub. A small glow of light formed on the tip of her keyblade followed by a thin beam of pale yellow light. It passed through the wall and shot into the gloom of the ocean. The second it hit water the beam tripled in size, the light slamming into the Leviathan's face.

The beast let out a loud cry as its face was hit directly, one of its yellow eyes blinking out of commissions. Milo turned the sub towards the temple and slowed his approach only enough so they could slip inside of the entryway. He shouted for everyone to hang on as they bumped and collided with walls and pillars, the sub rattling its contents like pebbles in a tin can. Roxas was thrown from his position and water began to leak in through the floor, quickly soaking everyone's shoes.

Then the temperature dropped fifty degrees.

There was a loud snap as the sub was encased in a block of ice, causing all of the mechanisms to fail immediately. Darkness surrounded them with an encapsulating silence. Then the ground beneath the sub gave way and the group fell towards whatever waited for them below.


	4. 4-She Dances on Ice: Shiva

**A/N-Hello my lovely readers! ^^ I have shoved all of my other projects aside so I could work purely on this for the next few days to possibly the next couple of weeks. Yay! Hopefully I'll post more than once a month for a bit to get the story rolling. I plan on getting this done before winter as that's when I'll be (hopefully!) working on Re-Mastering my first fic, "You Found Me". So stay on your toes for a bit because I hope to get at least to where the next character joins the party (ooooooooh, who will it be?!) before I think of slowly down again. Until then, read and enjoy! (And show that review box some love!)**

_The Cloister of Trials._

_ Only summoners and their guardians were allowed to enter such a hallowed ground. If one was not able to pass the Cloister, they were not worth of the Sacred Aeon it held within. We would have to face seven of them along our journey, each more challenging than the next. Tests of wit. Tests of courage. Were we ready to face such a trial? Would our combined knowledge be enough to make it to the end? My doubts began to overwhelm me on more than one occasion throughout our journey. I'm glad my friends were there to help me push through as this was not a journey one could take alone._

XxXxX

Axel groaned as he cracked open his eyes. His head was pounding, not to mention his ears which were ringing fiercely from when the Leviathan cried out. He shifted in his seat, grateful nothing was broken, and glanced back at the dark sub. Axel created a small flame in the palm of his hand and cast his eyes around to assess the damage done. Naminé and Demyx were mushed together between a set of seats, both unconscious from what Axel could see, while farther alone Seifer was rubbing his head against the back of the sub. Ienzo lay sprawled on the floor, his clothes soaked from the water on the floor. Milo was unconscious against the controls.

The red head felt panic rise in his chest as he realized he couldn't see Roxas. He called out quietly in hopes the blonde would hear him, but instead Seifer made the reply. "He's fine," the Captain stated. "Hands are a bit scraped but otherwise he looks okay." Seifer motioned to his left where Roxas was curled up behind the chairs out of Axel's view. The younger Soldier was also unconscious, making Axel and Seifer the only people to diagnose their status.

"Where do you suppose we landed?" Axel asked, pushing the headphones off of his ears. He felt frigid air brush his skin and he shivered, wrapping his arms around his damp clothes for added warmth.

"Like I know, shit brain. Somewhere in the Temple," Seifer replied snidely.

"Obviously, yet if we're in the Temple then how are we still alive? The place was flooded." The Captain made no reply to the red head, leaving Axel to venture forth on his own. He climbed over Ienzo to reach the hatch and attempted to twist it open with no luck. Axel made the accurate guess it was frozen shut as his damp fingers stuck to the metal when he pulled his hands away, pulling against his skin painfully until his hands were released. He shivered again as a cold draft pierced the hull of the sub. The red head moved about carefully as he searched for the source of the breeze, eventually finding it on the side where Seifer's window had cracked.

Axel rubbed the glass with his free hand, slicing open his finger in the process, and peered outside the sub while sticking his injured digit into his mouth. From what he could see through the frosted window was a series of stone pillars reminiscent of those seen in Atlantis covered in several inches of ice. He glanced at the ceiling where icicles growing to lengths of several feet hung ominously.

"Well, we're looking at an ice deity," Axel muttered with his finger still in his mouth. He turned as he heard Naminé moan softly, the girl prying herself out from between the seat and Demyx's sitar.

"What a ride…" she mumbled, pulling herself into the seat she had been squished against moments before. She quickly spotted Axel's flame and let out a sigh of relief. "I'll take it we made it?" she assumed.

"I think so. We're a bit frozen in, though," Axel replied. Naminé looked out her window and saw nothing but thick sheets of black and blue ice. She swore quietly under her breath, her hands twisting together nervously in her lap. "I'll try and get us a way out of the sub. You guys keep an eye on the others." Axel removed his finger from his mouth, happy to see it was already clotting, and extinguished the flame in his hand. Then he pointed two fingers at the hatch on the ceiling. A thin jet of fire shot out like a welding torch and began to melt away some of the ice, the condensation dripping onto the floor.

Ienzo was the next to wake with a splitting headache and a sore wrist. He muttered a simple cure spell under his breath and the pain quickly subsided. Demyx stirred around the same time as Milo, both rather bruised but intact from the crash. It took longer than everyone's liking before Roxas stirred. Both Naminé and Axel let out silent exhales of relief as Ienzo tended to the younger Soldier's concussion.

"Try and recall some basic information," Ienzo instructed.

"Like what?" Roxas ask groggily, the teen's cure spell pinching the nerves in his brain like a thousand tiny vices.

"Name, where you were born, stuff like that." Axel couldn't help but chuckle as Ienzo listed off the various items Roxas should try to remember.

The blonde paused for a moment to think. "My name is Roxas. I was born in Twilight Town. I was…ow!" Roxas called out as Ienzo used another cure spell on his head. The blonde spat out a row of curses as the pinching in his brain grew worse before the pain slowly began to subside. Roxas leaned his head back against the wall of the sub. "Damn, that hurts," he muttered.

"At least you're alive," Seifer commented dryly.

'_For now,'_ Roxas desperately wanted to snap back but refrained. Arguing with Seifer was going to get him nowhere and he needed to keep a calm mind to help the others get out of the sub so they could get Demyx to the Aeon chamber at the end of the Cloister of Trials. Thinking of how far they still had to go made him frown, the task to fight Sin growing more daunting by the minute.

"How's the hatch coming?" Naminé asked to break up the irritating silence.

"Good, I think I may be able to turn it," Axel replied. He cut off power to his makeshift torch and tried the latch. It turned with a loud creak, yet as Axel tried to push it open it only cracked a couple of inches. The red head peeked through what little space there was to see what was causing the blockage. Not to his surprise, more ice was piled high on top of the hatch to the point it was catching on the icicles looming over their heads. Axel managed to squeeze his hand through the opening and summoned his flame, the heat melting away the ice. Frigid water ran down his arm and dripped onto the floor. The more he was able to open the hatch, the more cold air rushed into the sub. Soon everyone was shivering in their wet clothes.

"Where do we go from here?" Milo asked.

"Through the Cloister, if we truly are in the Temple," Demyx replied. He rubbed his hands over his arms in hopes the friction would warm him up, yet it only made him shiver harder. "T-technically we're not supposed to bring outsiders w-with us, but seeing as you saved our asses and got u-us here in the first place we owe it t-to you to take you with us." Milo nodded his thanks, adjusting his glasses purely out of habit.

"Let's not waste any time then. I'll try and keep everyone warm so stick close to me," Axel offered. He climbed out of the hatch first before pulling Naminé through. One by one, Axel pulled out the occupants of the sub until they were all gathered in the frigid room layered with ice. The fire elemental concentrated on raising the temperature around them as Demyx deciphered where to go next. It was a delicate balance as he couldn't release too much heat or the icicles would rain down on their heads, their sharp points eager to piece their tender flesh.

Demyx pointed them down a large hallway and they began to travel slowly. Many of their joints continued to ache from the jostling they took when the sub crashed yet no one wanted to waste their limited supply of potions so early on in their journey on something so trivial as joint pain. The hall they shuffled down was covered with as much frost as the room they landed in. Seifer swiped his hands on one of the walls to reveal an intricate portrait hiding underneath. It appeared as though when the Temple was upon dry land it was not frozen over and the cold ocean waters had lowered the air temperature enough for the frost to form. Barren torches lined the walls where they offered no warmth to the travelers. Axel tried to light one only to have it sizzle, fizzle and die, the wick far too wet and the oil watered down.

It was unknown how the inside of the Temple had remained dry, however Ienzo wondered if the Aeon itself had shielded the interior of the Temple when the flood waters came so summoners could find their way inside should they need the Aeon's help once more. They pressed on in silence down the deserted hallway, Naminé, Ienzo and Milo shivering despite standing next to Axel. Roxas, Seifer and Demyx kept their faces blank as they did their best to ignore the cold.

At some point they came to a set of stairs completely frozen over. Even worse, they couldn't see where the stairs ended. They simply vanished into a pit of darkness, swallowed into mystery. Roxas took a hesitant step onto the first stair to test if they were safe to descend. The second his foot made contact he realized there were no intervals in the stairs anymore and his foot continued to slide.

"Oh, shit!" he hissed as he fell back onto his side and slide down the stairs into the darkness below.

"Roxas!" Naminé cried. She leapt after her brother and yelped as her bottom smacked against the hard ice.

"Wait up!" Axel called out. He took as step towards the stairs and slipped, pulling Milo and Ienzo with him as he fell down the iced stairs. Demyx and Seifer dove after their friends, worried what might be lingering at the base of the stairs.

As they slid, they were at least offered some forms of light. Roxas had a ball of light hover over his shoulder while Axel had a similar one made of fire. Demyx's necklace glowed strongly as they drew closer to the Aeon buried within the Temple.

Then the stairs diverged.

"Roxas!" Naminé cried as her brother slipped away from her. The Soldier tried to reach for her but his arm was nearly taken off by a pillar. Ienzo slid after Naminé while Axel and Milo tumbled down a third path. Demyx yelped as Seifer pushed him aside, sending the summoner down the path the youngest pair had taken while the Captain slide down after Roxas.

Demyx tried to catch up to Ienzo and Naminé with little luck. The stairs came to a sudden end and they all tumbled out into a hallway, their aching bodies whining in protest. Naminé was the first to stagger to her feet and examine where they had landed. It was a simple hallway made of bricks with a thin layer of frost on the walls and ceiling. Thankfully, it was much warmer than the entry had been although it wasn't much of a victory as the group had ended up getting separated.

"Where did we end up?" Ienzo asked, lost in the new set of halls.

"I think we made it to the Cloister of Trials," Demyx stated, rising to his feet before helping Ienzo stand. "If we're lucky we'll meet up with the others at the end."

"I don't even want to ask if we end up not being lucky," the teen replied sourly. Demyx chuckled nervously and looked down both sides of the hallway. He checked his crystal and found it glowed a bit brighter to the right.

"Well, then let's not get unlucky," the summoner commented. He motioned for them to follow and they began to make their way towards the prayer chamber where the Aeon lay sleeping.

XxXxX

"Well this is fucking fantastic," Seifer grumbled as he rose to his feet. Roxas was feeling the same way. They had ended up in a small room with three doors to pick from, each identical to the next. The blonde looked between the doors, feeling completely lost to which one they should pick.

"Do you suppose if we went left we would end up with Demyx and the right with Axel?" Roxas asked. Seifer rolled his eyes with a shrug. The younger blonde sighed. "Great…" He increased the light his little shoulder ball was giving off to illuminate the gloomy blues and greys of the room.

Seifer peeked through his eye patch only to frown. "Still can't see a damn thing," he griped as the light Roxas's ball gave off made his vision extremely blurry.

"Then let's go straight. At the very least we can turn around and come back here to pick another path." Roxas led the way while Seifer followed close behind. Neither was willing to admit it, but they were missing the heat Axel had given off, albeit the slight difference it had made. They trudged along the narrow hallway with their arms wrapped tightly around their slowly crisping clothes. Roxas glanced at the floor and noticed they were leaving footprints behind on the frosted stone.

"Not to sound like a chicken wuss, or anything, but there's some weird shit echoing through the walls," Seifer commented. Roxas paused in his walking and listened closely. Sure enough, there was the sound of a strange chant echoing from the depths of the Temple.

The younger Soldier grunted softly before resuming his pace. "I recognize the melody. Demyx played it when he summoned Sin back on Destiny Islands. It must be some sort of ancient hymn."

"Well it's creeping me the fuck out," the Captain grumbled. He rubbed his arms vigorously over his arms, trudging after the light elemental. The hall they followed twisted and turned at jutting right angles until they began feeling like a mouse trapped in a maze with nowhere to go but forward. Roxas sneezed and rubbed his finger under his running nose.

'_If I don't get a cold it will be a miracle,'_ he thought to himself. He begrudgingly turned the next corner and froze. Sounds of shark crackles filled the air, sending shivers down Roxas's spine that had nothing to do with the cold. Moving as little as possible, he shifted his eyes to the ground beneath his feet. Sometime during their trek the stone floor had given away to pure ice. Seifer looked beneath his own feet, where the ice sat a little bit thicker, as Roxas stared through the floor at what was contained below.

Lava.

Roxas shifted his weight ever so slightly so he could back track, but the ice floor cracked even further. Sweat started to collect on the sides of his neck as his heart raced faster and faster. He braced his arms between the narrow walls of the hall before risking his next step. Seifer took a couple steps back to allow Roxas room and to space out their weight on the ice, yet as the Captain placed his foot down it broke through several layers of frozen ground. Roxas's wide eyes flicked back to his Captain before the floor fell away, shattering like glass in an array of crystalline blue and pale pinks from the light reflected from the lava. His stomach shot into his throat as his body was overwhelmed with humidity and a heat so intense his skin felt like it was peeling.

As they fell, their clothes began to steam as the moisture nearly instantly evaporated. Seifer dove towards Roxas and snagged the younger blonde around the waist, twisting around to the ceiling in the process. He ripped his grapple gun free and fired at the ceiling. For a few seconds there was a tense silence as they continued to drift towards the molten floor. Then they jerked as the barb imbedded itself in the ceiling of the hallway. Roxas slipped from Seifer's grasp, the younger man wildly grabbing at anything nearby as he fell. He latched onto Seifer's boot, causing the pair to swing threateningly.

"Seifer!" Roxas called.

"Why don't you do something?!" the elder snapped back.

"I can't! I can use my light to slow our fall but what good would that do?!" Roxas shot back.

The Captain growled and looked up at the ceiling above their heads. "Well, the line's not meant to hold two people! Unless one of us is willing to jump in the deep fryer we need to think of something fast!" Roxas desperately tried to come up with an answer by scanning the contents of the chamber, yet all it held was the vast pit of ember glowing stone. He cursed under his breath as he realized he couldn't use his weapon transport as he needed both swords at the same time and seeing as he needed at least one to hand onto the boot hovering above his head, he needed to find a different plan.

The line jerked as the point shifted out of the rock high above their heads due to the swinging motion. An idea popped into the younger man's head as he stared at the grapple gun in Seifer's hand.

"Any day now, sunshine!" Seifer shouted. Roxas ignored him and pinched his eyes shut, focusing everything he had onto the energy of Kingdom Heats lingering in his chest. His heart beat heavily once as several connections added to his own. His mind latched onto one and pulled sharply.

_Ven!_

There was a pause. Then Roxas felt like his body was being filled with soda as a rush of energy spiked through his veins. He commanded the updraft rising off of the lava and suddenly they were being tossed ceiling-wards like a couple of stuffed animals being bounced in a blanket. Roxas blindly tried to control the wind yet it was more difficult than he ever imagined.

'_He made it look so damn easy!'_ Roxas growled in his head. He caught Seifer's eye as they flew towards each other, both latching onto the other's arm as though their minds were in sync. Roxas concentrated harder on controlling the air stream as they were flung higher and higher, eventually slamming against the ceiling of the hallway like a broken pinwheel. With one final effort, he commanded the air to throw them sideways farther along the hall. They slammed into the icy floor and rolled, causing more cracks to form in their wake. Roxas hit solid rock while Seifer dropped through the floor once again, nearly dragging the young with him from the sudden input of gravity.

The Soldier heaved his Captain up onto the solid floor before they both sat back on their hands to catch their breath. Seifer retracted his grapple gun, muttering crossly under his breath, while Roxas laid onto the cold stone to sooth his frazzled nerves.

"Let's not do that again," Roxas commented.

"Fine by me," Seifer agreed. "You owe me, dickshit."

"Consider it an even payment for the eye," the younger spat back.

"It's fucking defective! That's not an even trade!"

"And you stupid grapple gun can't hold two people, so I call that defective!" Vibrant blue clashed against electric blue-green as daggers were exchanged through glares. Seifer finally turned his nose up and pushed himself to his feet, continuing on down the hall without Roxas. The younger hurriedly stood and chased after his Captain, both equally grateful and disgruntled.

'_Why couldn't Seifer have gone with Naminé?' _he wondered.

XxXxX

"Ouch!" Naminé as she tripped over an uneven brick and smashed her elbow into the wall.

"Careful," Demyx muttered, although it was hardly worth mentioning. Ever since they entered the hallway they had been nothing but careful, mostly because there wasn't an ounce of light save for the glow of the summoner's necklace.

"So what are we supposed to _do_ exactly in the Cloister of Trials?" the girl asked, curious of what lay ahead for their branched off group.

"It's meant to test the summoner and their guardians to see if they're worthy of getting the Sacred Aeon. Normal temples don't have these. You just pray hard enough and the aeon chooses to make a bond with you or it doesn't," Demyx explained. "My guess is there's Trials based on various aspects of summoners like wit, fortitude, patience, and strength."

"What about this Temple? What do you suppose this one is trying to test us with?" Demyx shrugged, then realized Naminé couldn't see him, before muttering he did not know. Naminé stumbled over another brick, as she was in the lead so Ienzo could follow her footfalls more delicately. She scowled at the floor and kicked it with her heel. "Well, it sure isn't being fair by keeping us in the dark!"

XxXxX

Axel wasn't sure what was worse: the fact they nearly died ten minutes ago by falling into a chasm or the fact he had to protect Milo from pretty near everything they stumbled across, most particularly the pair of stone statues shaped like demonic fish with legs bearing down on him with tridents made from gold.

As the pair tumbled down the stairs, Milo desperately tried to stop himself while Axel simply let gravity take him where the Temple intended him to go. His journey was quickly cut short as the shadows in front of them did not dim as the ball of fire that lingered over Axel's shoulder grew closer. The Knight cursed and summoned his chakrams. The weapons spun into existence in a flurry of flames, snapping to life in the man's palms. Axel shifted his feet underneath him and sprang forward, leaping over Milo in an arching forward flip. When his feet hit the ice, Axel slammed his chakrams into the stairs. Showers of sparks rose as metal scraped against stone. The Knight began to slow, Milo slamming into his back, as they continued towards the gaping darkness.

His arms snapped painfully as the chakrams took hold into the ice, forcing the pair to a halt. Axel scanned the area ahead of them, seeing only a few more yards of stairs before they dropped off completely into an ebony abyss. Milo sat up slowly, adjusting his glasses as he looked over the larger man's shoulder.

"Holy cow, that's one heck of a drop," the guide stammered.

"It's also our only way out, seeing as I'm not too keen as climbing all the way back up to the top of the stairs with you on my back," Axel stated flatly. He took a deep breath to clear his head, the gears in his head slowly churning for a solution.

"You know, I bet this is a test of some sort," Milo commented, rubbing his chin with this thumb and forefinger. "There has to be some sort of trick of making it across to wherever it is we are supposed to be going."

"I don't exactly see a door," Axel protested. He sent out his tiny fire ball with his mind and watched as it floated around the space in front of them. From the dimly lit glow, they could make out an intricately carved wall painted with various murals.

But no doors.

"You don't suppose they want us to fall into the pit?" Milo suggested.

"I'd rather not, but seeing as we have no choice than I suppose we should." Axel tightened his grip on his chakrams. "Ready?"

"Uh, well, maybe not…" Axel ripped his chakrams free, gravity quickly taking over as they dropped down the remaining stairs into the pit. Darkness swallowed them up, cutting off all others senses as the only sound they could hear was the rushing of wind in their ears. Axel cast out a ball of fire below them to illuminate where they were going.

What he wasn't expecting was the shadows on the walls to peel away into a horde of angry heartless. Axel positioned his chakrams below him, spinning them wildly between his fingers. From the tips sprouted drops of fire sent flying in all directions like a sprinkler. Heartless leapt from the walls into the airspace. Some were taken out by the shower of fire while others managed to slither past. Milo yelped as one shaped like a bat landed on the guide's head and began pulling the man's hair. Flipping his body around, Axel pushed off one of the heartless and sprang towards the helpless man, his heels drilling fire into the creatures as he shoved off of its heads. Axel ripped the heartless from Milo's head and crushed it in his hand, turning it into a pile of shadow fragments and embers.

The Knight slammed his chakrams together, the weapons fusing with a flurry of burning light until they snapped into a single unit, crystalized flame sprouting from one end. Milo's eyes widened at the sight of the keyblade, watching in awe as a vortex of fire gathered at the tip of the weapon. Axel released his channeled energy, sending a fire blast racing down the chute and charring everything, including the walls, as it swept downwards. Heartless exploded into ripped pieces of shadow while ash replaced the frost marring the murals on the walls.

The air around the humans began to grow lighter as they neared the end of their descent. Axel desperately thought of a way to try and save them, seeing as the fall would surely kill them with their speeds near terminal velocity. He felt a pulse jar his internal organs and suddenly they were falling in slow motion, although both males could move about freely. Axel looked up at Milo, who looked ready to soil his pants, before looking for the ground beneath them. They floated gently into a large circular room illuminated in a sea green light, the walls shimmering reflections of the water ringed around the outer edge of the floor.

Time returned to normal as they dropped the last three feet. Axel gracefully landed upon his toes while Milo flopped onto his stomach, the man groaning as his body made contact with cold, damp stone. Axel pulled his keyblade apart into his chakrams as his eyes scanned the room for any immediate signs of danger. The biggest threat was the large pair of statues standing in front of an impressive looking door. They looked rather similar to a lizard save its head looked more like that of a fish. Large dorsal fins stretched out on their backs while their limbs looked a little bit more than fins themselves. Each held a large gold trident above their heads, the tips pointed together over the center of the door, which was nothing more than a large, circular opening in the stone being blocked from the other side by a large sheet of ice.

"I think we found the prayer chamber," Milo noted, examining the stone figures from a distance. "Beyond that door is where the Aeon must be resting."

Axel hesitantly made his way closer towards the door, his eyes constantly scanning for signs of more heartless. Standing beneath the door's guardians, he unleashed a ball of fire unto the ice. Cold devoured heat. The flames died uselessly as they made contact with the wall of ice. Axel frowned, taking a step back from the door.

"I guess we have to wait for Demyx," he muttered.

He flinched as the sound of stone grinding against stone echoed from both sides. Axel leapt back as both pairs of fish eyes started glowing an intense shade of yellow, their gazes locking onto the red head as he gave the guardians some space.

"I think you angered them," Milo whimpered, his knees starting to shake.

'_No shit,'_ Axel thought. He instructed his companion to stand as far back as he could and Milo eagerly complied, squishing himself as close to the wall as possible without falling into the moat sitting quietly underneath. The Knight waited as the guardians turned their bodies towards the human, the one on the left taking a step towards him with the trident poised to run the intruder through. '_What am I supposed to do against rock?'_ Axel wondered. '_I can't burn them. At best maybe I could melt them…worth a shot.'_

He shot to the right, arching wide as he approached the still waking golem from behind. He gathered his fire around the spokes of his chakrams before throwing them, the discs soaring like flaming wheels until they ground into the leg of the stone guardian. It created a shower of sparks, embers cascading onto the floor with each turn. Axel called his weapons back and the chakrams materialized in his hands in a bundle of fire. Much to his distaste, the only mark left behind on the stone guardian's leg was a few shallow scratches lined with ash. Melting the golems wasn't going to work, and without anyone else nearby with fighting experience he needed to come up with an idea fast.

He flipped backwards over his head as the first stone guardian lunged forward with is trident, shaking the ground with its thundering step. His feet slid over the ground like a skater, leaving trails of fire in his wake. Axel fused his chakrams into his keyblade, crystalized fire snapping to life, and slashed at the right guardian's leg. His keyblade hardly made a scratch as it bounced off uselessly. Axel dug his feet into the ground so he glided hard to the side, arcing around the golem as the stone statue failed to keep up with the Knight's movements. He leapt into the air and bounced off of thin jets of fire shooting up from the floor, his keyblade's crystal color fading from a brilliant orange to a vibrant blue. The Knight slashed downward as he came even with the second stone guardian's head. This time he managed to crack the stone without the blade ricocheting off.

Axel drew his keyblade back as he leapt onto the statue's shoulder before raining a string of blows in the same spot as before. Bit by bit he chipped away flakes of rock while the stone guardian swatted at the man with its trident. The Knight was knocked off of his feet as the second trident slammed into his side, sending him flying across the room. Axel tumbled and rolled chaotically, his keyblade flying from his grasp and skidding into the moat on the edge of the room. When he came to a halt, Axel hissed as the pain radiated through his body.

"I'm done fucking around," he spat, spitting a glob of blood filled phlegm onto the ground. Axel shoved himself upright and slammed his fist into his shoulder, his armor materializing over his body. Milo gaped at the armor's sudden appearance, the guide forgetting to push his glasses up on his nose as he stared. Axel held out his hand and his keyblade appeared in a vortex of fire. He charged forward, channeling his energy into his blade again. The keyblade's crystal faded from orange to blue to practically white, the radiant, celestial ivory giving off an intense heat.

Axel skated across the ground with his fire propelling his feet forward. He quickly slide to the left as the first stone guardian slammed its trident into the ground where the Knight was supposed to have been. The red head swerved between the second statue's legs, slashing his keyblade at the narrow limbs as he passed. His keyblade cut through the first leg like a plasma torch while it merely left an indent in the second. The stone guardian let out a shrieking gurgle as its leg slide out from its foot before its shoulder crashed into the ground, sending shockwaves through the floor.

The Knight dug his feet into the ground again to arch towards the other golem, yet he had to dodge roll to the side as the guardian's trident swept over his head. He bounced back to his feet and broke into a run. His feet carried him around to the rear of the statue where he slashed his keyblade deep into the calf of the stone fish creature. He continued to use his momentum to arch around to where the first guardian was pushing itself upright. Axel leapt onto the statue's arm and darted up to the golem's neck. He flipped over the second statue's trident, landing onto the gold pole and charging towards the face of the weapon's wielder. Axel lunged forward into a roll, his keyblade whizzing around his spinning body like a saw blade, and flew straight into the statue's face. The near molten crystal cut through the stone like soft cheese, barely slowing Axel down as he used his fire to keep his body motion spinning forward. The stone guardian screeched loudly before its knees gave out, rumbling the floor once more.

"Axel, watch out!" Milo cried.

The Knight was knocked sideways by the sweeping palm of the other statue then slammed into the ground, his body caught between the teeth of the trident. His arms were pinning awkward under the gold, making using his keyblade useless. Axel grit his teeth as he tried, without any luck, to free himself from his restraints.

The statue's head jerked sideways as it was blasted with a ball of fire. Axel's brows pressed together in confusion before his eyes shifted to the hole in the ceiling. Demyx, Naminé, and Ienzo were gently floating down from their descent down the long chute.

"Do it again! Thirty degrees downward!" Naminé shouted. Ienzo nodded and pointed his palms where she commanded.

"Firaga!" he commanded. A large ball of flame shot from his palms and slammed into the first stone golem's head.

"Direct hit!" Naminé cheered, summoning her keyblade into her hand. Demyx touched down first and took off running towards his companions, Ienzo and Naminé chasing after him soon after. "Haste!" Naminé barked, pointing her keyblade at Demyx. The summoner's speed nearly doubled as he sprinted across the room. Demyx shot skyward using a jet of water and commanded a blast of water from the ceiling down onto the second statue, who was still struggling to get back on its feet. He landed onto the first statue and quickly spotted the place where Axel had attacked its neck.

"Ienzo, thunder on me!" Demyx commanded.

"Thundaga!" the teen shouted, striking his arm downward with the bolt of lightning snapping from the ceiling. Demyx leapt backwards a millisecond before the static struck, however the hairs on his body still managed to stand up on end from the energy. The lightning hit its target and drove through the crack in the statue's neck, beheading the stone guardian in a literal flash.

Naminé rushed towards the second statue and stood before it, holding her keyblade in front of her. An ornate circle spiraled out from beneath her feet and pulsed as she pointed her weapon at the jet stream of water raining down from the ceiling. "Stop!" she commanded. For a brief couple of seconds time froze. During that time Ienzo cast a spell on the water, making the molecules freeze into sheets of ice. Demyx cut off the stream of water as the second statue was encased in an iceberg, the yellow glow of its eyes slowly fading beneath the cold.

Naminé and Demyx rushed over to Axel, who was still pinned beneath the trident, and managed to pry him out from underneath. The Knight deactivated his armor, letting it take his keyblade away with it. He flinched as he took a step, pain flooding through his ribs. Axel pulled back his shirt to see a large bruise starting to form.

"Ienzo, Axel's ribs need some healing," Naminé stated. The teen nodded and instructed the red head to sit. He knelt next to Axel and began using cura on the battered man while Milo stepped over to where the others were gathered.

"Glad to see you're all still alive," the guide commented.

"Same for you," Demyx replied, pushing back the hood on his scarf. Both his and Milo's crystals were glowing quite intensely as they stood in front of the ice door. "So this is the prayer chamber," Demyx muttered. He stepped forward towards the wall of ice covering the door and gently placed his hand on the cold surface. A rush of cold swarmed his body followed by a pulse of energy.

The wall of ice shuddered and began to roll to the side. Behind it was another wall of ice rolling in the opposite direction. The circles split just enough for Demyx to walk through, revealing very little to the other onlookers to what lie beyond in the prayer chamber. Demyx looked to his friends and nodded before stepping through the space opened to him, the circles of ice rolling back into place once the summoner was inside. The entire Temple trembled as the ice locked back into place.

Then everyone was engulfed in silence.

Demyx stepped forward into the chamber, his only light being the crystal around his neck. There was a sudden bright light as a circle on the floor began to glow white. Demyx squinted as he examined the giant stone inset in the floor. Underneath the surface there was a shadowy outline of the Sacred Aeon, the silhouette reminiscent of that of a woman. Demyx knelt next to the stone and folded his hands, his eyes sliding shut. Then he began to pray.

XxXxX

When Roxas jumped into the inky black pit at the end of the winding hallway he figured he was going to have to struggle through another daring rescue to save both his and Seifer's life, yet as he suddenly slowed when he entered the sea-green glowing chamber he let out a sigh of relief. As his feet hit solid stone, he heard Seifer landing from the sudden drop behind him. Quickly spotting their friends, they strode over to join them. Axel lie on his back while Ienzo sat beside him, the teen resting as he regained his energy.

Seifer whistled as he spotted the destroyed and frozen statues in front of the ice wall. "Damn! You guys really know how to make a mess of the place," the Captain joked darkly.

Roxas sat next to his red headed friend and Axel glanced over at the blonde as he plopped down by his side. "Dem's been praying for awhile now," Axel stated.

"Yeah?" Roxas asked, looking over at the ice blocking the large hole in the wall. "I wonder what's inside there."

"Probably some summoner voodoo, although I'd be happy if it also turned out to be a hanger for submarines," Axel dreamed.

"How long does he have to pray?" Roxas wondered aloud.

"From what I've heard some summoners sit in there for days praying," Milo chipped in.

"DAYS?!" Axel choked out, sitting up suddenly. He flinched as the dull pain in his side flared, the movement irritating his bruised flesh. "You mean we could be sitting down here without rations for days?!"

"Potentially," Milo replied quietly, adjusting his glasses as he kept his gaze locked on the ground.

Roxas placed a hand on the red head's shoulder, giving the man a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. Dem won't keep us waiting that long," the Solider muttered. Yet even as he spoke he knew his reassurance was more to convince himself than Axel.

Hours passed. Their only way of telling the passage of time was through Naminé and one of her time spells. At the clock ticked passed six hours, the group started to get hungry. Roxas split up a couple of granola bars for them to nibble on as their eyes remained locked on the ice wall in front of them. Axel and Seifer found themselves moving about the space frequently so they didn't have to stay still for long. Roxas and Naminé started up a card game from a wrinkled deck the spellblade packed with her in case they ever got bored. Ienzo talked quietly with Milo about various bits of magic knowledge the other had not learned yet.

After eight hours Ienzo took a nap, resting his head in Roxas's lap while the blonde continued to play cards with his adopted sister. Axel also took the time to snooze, although his was purely accidental. He had been sitting against Naminé's back when he just nodded off, his head resting on his shoulder as Naminé kept the man propped upright. Seifer worked on sharpening his gunblade while Milo began to mill about the room in search of something to study.

When Ienzo woke, everyone decided to trade shifts. Seifer, Roxas, Naminé and Milo curled up on the chamber floor while Ienzo and Axel talked quietly, catching up on each other's lives. Before Naminé went to sleep she had checked the time, marking eleven hours. More time passed to the point Axel and Ienzo felt like they were going crazy. They finally stood and worked on some hand to hand combat for Ienzo's benefit.

"Milo wasn't kidding when he said it could take awhile," Axel said quietly as to not wake the others.

"I wish I knew what's going on in there but the doors block out Demyx's aura. What's beyond the ice is a complete mystery," Ienzo commented with a slightly down disposition.

"Well, don't beat yourself up about it." Ienzo grunted softly, keeping his future thoughts to himself.

It wasn't until Roxas started rubbing the sleep from his eyes did the ground shudder, quickly notifying the group of the ice doors' movement. Naminé, Milo, and Seifer were quickly wakened. They waited patiently as the doors rumbled to a halt, leaving the opening to the prayer chamber cast in darkness. Fourteen hours had passed since the doors last opened and the group was eager to leave the Temple behind. The sound of staggering footsteps echoed in the sea-green room and Demyx wavered as he stepped from between the doors. Roxas rushed forward and caught the summoner as his knees gave out, the ivory haired man wavering on the edge of consciousness. The ice doors rolled back into place once more, sealing the prayer chamber away until the coming of the next summoner.

"Did he do it?" Naminé asked quietly.

Roxas helped Demyx stumbled over to the others. Sweat beaded along his forehead and large, dark bags plagued the undersides of his eyes. Straining to keep his eyes open, Demyx slowly straightened himself upright, his muscles trembling with exhaustion. He swallowed thickly before managing to speak.

"I did it…" he breathed, his voice barely a whisper.

"Don't strain yourself. We can rest for as long as you need it," Axel offered. Demyx shook his head, earning a menagerie of frowns from the others.

"I just need something to drink," his voice rasped. Naminé dug through her bag until she found a small potion, offering it to the exhausted summoner. Demyx sipped it gingerly while Roxas continued to hold up most of the man's weight. Strength returned to the weakened muscles, allowing the summoner to stand on his own once more. He took a deep breath before requesting the others to stand back. The others gave him his space while Demyx slipped his sitar from over his shoulder.

The man swept the sitar around him once before spinning it once along the long axis. He plucked a chord and a large circle spread out beneath his feet, one much more intricate than the one Naminé had used. Demyx struck another chord, the sound filling the space, and the circle began to glow brightly. An intense cold wind blasted upwards around him and the ground was covered in a thick layer of frost. The ice cracked and a tall woman with blue skin and navy hair, intricately put up out of her face, appeared behind the summoner, trailing her long fingers on the man's shoulders idly. The circle vanished and all that was left was the Aeon, her toes leaving a patch of frost behind where they touched the ground.

"Shiva," Demyx said, nodding to the Aeon. The Aeon nodded and walked away from her master on her toes, creating a cold air to anyone near her presence. She spun on her toes and the ground rumbled beneath the humans' feet. Shiva's arms moved fluidly as she slowly began to dance. At the same time the floor began to rise up through the chute of the temple where everyone had fallen so long ago.

The lift began to pick up speed as Shiva's dancing intensified, the humans quickly staying out of the Aeon's way as they were lifted higher and higher through the Temple. The walls were cast with a sparkly, white light given off by the Aeon. Shiva twirled and clasped her hands together, creating a dome of ice around the patch of stone. Above their heads a door opened, raining ocean water down upon them. Then they stopped in the entryway of the Temple, exactly where they had started so many hours ago in the sub. How they were going to get back to the surface was still a mystery.

Shiva looked to Demyx and the sound of small icicles raining onto a frozen lake echoed around them, although the Aeon never opened her mouth when she spoke. Demyx nodded, frowning as he listened to what the Aeon had to say. He nodded again and Shiva placed her hand on the ground. A layer of ice formed under their feet, followed by the sound of the floor sinking back into the Temple. Shiva turned to the entry way and began to walk, her navy garb dancing around her legs, and the ice dome moved forward with her so the Aeon never left the center. Once they were free of the building, the ice began to float upwards towards the surface of the ocean.

"Talk about one Hell of an elevator ride," Axel muttered to Roxas, the blonde nodding in agreement as their ears popped painfully. The darkness of the sea engulfed them until they neared the surface where the evening rays of sunlight were fading upon the edges of the water. As the dome surfaced, the ice shattered around their heads into a spray of silver mist. Shiva bowed to her master before dissipating into a shower of snowflakes, her cool aura disappearing with her. Demyx placed his sitar on his shoulders and began to command the water around them to push the ice plate towards Atlantis.

"One down," Naminé said happily, flashing a smile at Seifer.

"Let's just hope the ice flow lasts us all the way back," Ienzo commented.

XxXxX

The ice didn't last the entire journey, however they were lucky enough to get picked up by a fishing boat shortly before the frozen water broke apart into ice cubes. Upon their return to Atlantis, the Queen offered them a large feast for their success, yet as hungry as they were they much would have rather gone straight to bed. With full stomachs and sleepy faces, they were brought to guest rooms for the night where they all fell asleep instantly.

Roxas, however, almost wished he hadn't. When he opened his eyes he was standing on one of the large stained glass floors he had come to hate and found it was the one Kingdom Hearts had shown him back in Traverse Town. It portrayed seven circles filled with various silhouettes and a large blackened shape in the middle, although there was something slightly different about the one he stood on presently as there had been no center shaped before. Roxas watched the outlines in the smaller circles shift until they were of figures foreign to him. One of the circles suddenly grew very brightly and the image of Shiva appeared, her graceful body frozen mid dance.

_ You are the one to bind them together._

Roxas shivered as he was pulled away from the dream, waking in a cold sweat under his sheets. He realized he might have made a mistake. The image had changed. Kingdom Hearts hadn't been threatening him.

It had been warning him.

**A/N-Rocked out to Epic Game Music while writing part of this. (Go check him out on YouTube, he's really good! *Jams out to the ProJared theme song for the fortieth time*). Other inspiring tunes would be ****_Ballad of the Goddess_**** from "Skyward Sword", ****_Catching my Breath_**** by Kelly Clarkson, and various dubstep tracks.**


	5. 5-That Fishy Feeling

**A/N-Here's another one! Woot! I'm still working hard (wow that last chapter was long, did not expect it to be so lengthy but that's what you get when you don't plan ahead!). New world, new Temple! And, of course, more plot twists and cliffhangers than you can shake a stick at. *waves a pair of sticks around wildly* If you're ever curious to how far I'm through with the next chapter I post it on my Profile page (and I update it regularly!). Read and enjoy the latest chapter!**

_ The last thing I wanted to be was a fish._

_ It never even crossed my mind, yet when I woke up the second time that day I found myself sporting fins and a tail. How or why I have no idea. From what we learned it had something to do with the world we were in, but it certainly was a shock. No one had every told us some of the inhabitants were really part sea creature. On land they looked like a typical human, from what I've heard at least. How could such a secret exist? Why didn't the other worlds know about it?_

_ I suppose it really didn't matter as we were there for one thing: the Sacred Aeon. Somewhere underneath the depths of endless ocean was the Sacred Temple waiting for us. I just really hope the next Temple we go to isn't underwater._

XxXxX

The flight was surprisingly short to their next destination. After a late morning, the group had eaten breakfast and said their goodbyes to Milo and Kida before departing to the next world in the chain containing Sacred Temples. Demyx was in much brighter spirits and wouldn't stop talking most of the trip while, in deep contrast, Roxas remained distant. He only replied when asked a direct question and even then he usually asked for it to be repeated. He was unnerved, to say the least, and it only made his friends worry about him even more. The only person who couldn't afford to worry was Axel, as he didn't want to strain the blonde further, so he put his trust in Roxas that he would share his conundrums when he felt he was ready to speak.

Upon reaching their destination, everyone looked out the windows with distasteful frowns as miles upon miles of water stretched below them. Naminé even went so far as to stick out her tongue. Ienzo noticed the world contained a lot more darkness than Atlantis, although the light and dark mixed together in the same aquatic fashion. They flew to the port where they landed at the G. Ship hanger, the place buzzing with people milling about as they went about their days in the nearby marketplace. The group departed and headed for the nearby inn, getting three rooms for their stay.

"Costa del Sol," Axel called out as he opened the doors to his bedroom balcony. "If we weren't here for Aeons, I'd gladly stick around for some serious beach time."

"We don't have a lot of time to afford towards relaxation," Demyx reminded, tossing his bag onto one of the beds.

Axel sighed and tucked his hands into his pockets. "I know, but I've been stuck in vacation mode for so long I forgot what it's like to work," the red head admitted. Demyx chuckled, his thoughts turning back to years long past.

"I love how we totally hated our jobs," the summoner commented.

"I think everyone hated their jobs, save for maybe Xigbar, Saïx and Vexen," Axel replied over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right." Demyx flopped back onto his bed, sprawling his arms out to the side. "Damn, I'm still tired," he muttered.

"Then maybe we should take a break. You know, for the day or something. We need to find information on where the Sacred Temple is anyway." Axel turned away from the balcony and strode over to his friend, plopping down on the bed next to him. He crossed his legs and turned his gaze to the ceiling. "So how about it? One day off? We'll head to the Temple first thing in the morning."

"Axel, it is the first thing in the morning. Did you check the time? It's barely eight in the morning here!" Demyx whined. "Fucking lag between worlds." The red head turned his attention to the front door as it opened, revealing Naminé and Ienzo both wearing colorful flower lei's.

"Well, you two look sharp," Axel teased with a grin.

"They're free down in the lobby!" Naminé said excitedly, skipping over to her adopted brother and plopping herself down in his lap. "So tell me, boys, what is the plan for the day? Are we going to the beach or risking our lives in another Cloister of Trials?"

"Dem needs his rest so I say we hit the beach!" Axel said, earning a groan from his roommate.

"We really need to get moving. We still have six Temples to get through, not to mention _find_ Sin and destroy him after somehow creating the final Aeon," Demyx reminded.

"You're practically dead on your feet," Naminé shot back. "And so is Roxas for that matter. Plus Axel's still healing and Ienzo needs to store up his energy." The girl nudged the ivory haired man's side with her toes. "Common, Dem! It's the beach! We never get to go to the beach! Plus…" Naminé paused, her face suddenly growing very forlorn. She tangled her fingers together in her lap as her eyes grew distant. "Plus Xion always wanted to go to the beach," she mumbled. Axel's heart instantly clenched at the sound of Xion's name. He should have been there to protect her yet he was lying around Destiny Island like a zombie after getting his heart ripped out. It just didn't seem fair.

"I vote for the beach," Ienzo said quietly.

Demyx sighed and sat up, allowing a smile to play with his lips. "Okay, one day at the beach," he agreed. "Then we get ourselves an Aeon!" Naminé released a girly squeal as she leapt to her feet, dancing about on her toes as a million different ideas popped into her head at once.

"Okay! We need to get ice cream! No, watermelon! No, pretzels!" she shouted, completely indecisive. "Oooh, we'll have to get suits! Come on, Axel!" She yanked the red head to his feet and practically dragged him out of the door by his wrist.

When the pair was gone, Ienzo felt the air in the room shift to an uncomfortable silence. He heard Demyx shift on the bed before his padded footsteps stepped passed him, trailing into the bathroom. He was about to leave to give the man some privacy when his stomach jolted to the sound of Demyx throwing up. Ienzo rushed over, following the sounds of stomach contents splashing into toilet water, and knelt next to the summoner. Demyx heaved again, emptying his stomach completely of its breakfast. Ienzo rubbed his knuckles along the man's trembling spine in attempts to sooth him.

"You shouldn't strain yourself," Ienzo muttered.

Demyx spat into the toilet and flushed his breakfast away. "You think I don't know that?" he growled. Ienzo frowned but didn't comment. The ivory haired man sighed heavily and curled up on the cool, tile floor. "How am I supposed to do this, Ienzo? I can barely keep myself together after the first Aeon. I can't let everyone down because my bodies too weak to handle the strain." When Demyx looked up at the teen, Ienzo's face was blank. "I can't be the weak link, not again. I just can't…" His voice caught in his throat and Demyx swallowed heavily, forcing back the tears pricking at his eyes.

"You never were the weak link," Ienzo stated softly. Pale eyebrows pressed together, so Ienzo went on to explain. "Remember, Dem, Roxas wasn't the only one Kingdom Hearts brought back to life." With that, Ienzo stood and let the summoner have some time to himself. Demyx placed his head on the cool tiles once more, his eyes staring unfocused on the wall in front of him.

"Yeah, I know…"

XxXxX

"Hey!" Seifer barked, making Roxas jump and topple over the edge of his bed. He ungracefully hit the floor and stumbled to his feet.

"Uh, sorry. I was lost in thought. Did you say something?" the younger blonde asked. Even as Roxas spoke, Seifer could see the dual eyed blonde's focus waver. The Captain scowled and pulled out the chair sitting in front of the desk, plopping down in it backwards and crossing his arms over the headrest.

"Alright, start talking."

Roxas staggered back a step. "W-what?"

"You heard me. Talk." Seifer nodded to the bed sharply, his eyes cold. Roxas shuffled around the bed to sit in front of his Captain, his eyes darting to the floor. "Roxas, in all my time knowing you, you've never been this spacey. What the fuck? What's going on?"

Roxas glanced up at the hard, electric eyes and mentally flinched. He knew his only option was to talk or Seifer probably wouldn't even let him leave the room. Sighing, Roxas summed up the courage to look the other man dead in the eye.

"It's Kingdom Hearts," the younger said plainly. "I think it's trying to warn me."

"About what?" Seifer pressed.

"I don't know. It showed me this image of a floor with weird silhouettes on them, but then they suddenly changed shape. Then one of the seven circles lit up to reveal the new Aeon Demyx got back in Atlantis. Before we left Traverse Town, Kingdom Hearts mentioned I would be the one to bind them together. How can that be? Isn't it the summoner's job to bind the Aeons together?" Roxas asked.

Seifer was quiet. His eyes softened a bit into a countenance Roxas recognized, the elder calculating variables in his head in order to make sense of the current situation. Last the Soldier had seen such an expression was the day Twilight Town was destroyed, and for some reason that unnerved Roxas even more.

"Not saying it's going to happen, but maybe in order for the final Aeon to be created from the Sacred Aeons there needs to be some sort of sacrifice," Seifer deducted. Roxas's chest clenched tightly. He hadn't even thought of the idea of a sacrifice and yet Seifer had said it so plainly. "Although, if that's the case who's to say it'll be you that decides to be the sacrifice? I mean there're five guardians with Demyx currently so you have a twenty percent chance of being chosen, that is unless you volunteer. The odds only get smaller if we pick up more guardians along the way. If it comes down to volunteers, most likely it'll fall between you, Axel and Ienzo as you three are the closest to Demyx and would be the most likely to step up for him. Even then, one out of three. So unless someone points a finger or we have to draw magical straws to decide, I think you'll be fine."

As hard as Seifer's tone was, Roxas found the man's words comforting. The Captain had a point and looking at the situation logically made a lot more sense than his previous abstract thoughts. A flicker of a smile played with the corners of Roxas's lips.

"Thanks, Seifer. I really needed to hear that," the Soldier stated. Seifer grunted with a nod, resting his chin on his folded arms as his expression changed to boredom. The door to their room burst open as Naminé let herself in, Axel peeking in from the hallway. She strode over to the blondes and grabbed them by the wrist with a playful smile on her lips.

"Come on, boys," she called in a sing-song voice.

"Where are we going?" Roxas asked as he stumbled to his feet. Seifer wasn't far behind as he nearly tripped over the chair he was sitting on as Naminé yanked on his wrist.

The girl shot her adopted brother a mischievous smile, a devious twinkle in her eyes. "Why, shopping of course." Roxas rolled his eyes while Seifer scowled, yet both allowed themselves to get dragged out of the room to follow Naminé down to the nearest beach store, Axel trying not to snicker as he trailed behind.

XxXxX

The beach front was crowded with a wide array of tourist from nearly every world the group could think of. Unlike the beaches of Destiny Island, the sands in Costa del Sol were a rich golden yellow and the waters a rich shade of blue. Once again, it was a sight Ienzo wished he could see. Being blind, the water terrified him greatly, even more so as he did not know how to swim. Much to his thanks, no one pressure him to join them in the water and he spent most of his time on the beach guarding everyone's towels. He wasn't alone most of the time as Seifer refused to participate in the fun, keeping the Captain near their small plot of sand unless he was sent on an errand to get more food.

Roxas, Axel, Naminé, and Demyx goofed around in the shallows most of the morning and afternoon. The summoner had to dip out twice to take a nap, but otherwise he seemed to be in much better spirits than when he first arrived in Costa del Sol. When Demyx bowed out the second time, the Traverse Town trio ventured farther down the beach where there weren't as many people.

Naminé stopped suddenly, her eyes staring out sadly at the waves on the horizon. Axel and Roxas realized she had fell behind and backtracked to stand beside her. The spellblade knelt and began writing in the sand.

_Xion_

"We never got to the beach, did we?" Naminé asked quietly as she sat back on her knees. She watched the waves lap against the shore, erasing the name bit by bit until the sand was smooth once more. Roxas lifted his necklace from his chest, his eyes unfocused as he stared at the keyblade on the chain.

"She's with us in spirit," the Soldier said quietly.

Axel grunted softly and folded his hands behind his head. "Well, I suppose it's settled then," he muttered. The blonde pair turned to him for answers, their brows furrowed. Axel flashed them a grin before dropping his hands to his hips. "When we die, we'll bring Xion back here as ghosts. Then we'll dance on the beach and scare all of the tourists." Naminé broke out into a fit of giggles while Roxas gave his friend a shove.

"Don't be weird," Roxas teased. Axel burst out laughing, shoving Roxas back before taking off running down the beach.

"Last one back pays for ice cream!" the red head called over his shoulder. Roxas and Naminé exchanged glances before lunging into a run, chasing after the Knight with grins plastered on their faces.

"Get back here, Axel!" Naminé shouted. "You're legs are longer than ours!" Her cries only made the red head laugh harder. Axel stumbled as a wave washed over the sand under his feet, making him sink and stagger in attempts to remain standing. Naminé saw her chance and stuck out her tongue at Roxas. The Soldier's brows pressed together until the spellblade cast haste on herself, sending her flying down the beach.

"That's cheating!" he shouted. Roxas grinned and darted forward in a blink using his light magic, surpassing both of his opponents in a second.

"Now that's cheating!" Axel cried, now in the rear of the pack.

Farther up the shore, Ienzo listened to the trio with a bemused expression. He looked up as he heard Seifer sit down next to him again, back from a run of getting watermelon and bottles of water from the concessions stand. The blonde bit into a slice and chewed slowly before offering the teen a slice of his own. Ienzo said a quiet thanks before nibbling on the edge of the sweet fruit.

"I've got some good news and some shitty news," Seifer spoke up suddenly. Ienzo perked up, setting his melon in his lap.

"Yeah? About what?" the teen pressed.

Seifer glanced at Demyx, who was passed out on his stomach with the sun warming his skin, before taking a large bite of melon. "I talked with some of the locals to see where the location of the next Sacred Temple is. Turns out were on the wrong side of the world." Seifer spit his seeds a good ten feet down the beach before taking another monster bite out of his fruit.

"Wrong side? There's nothing but water on the other side of the world," Ienzo recalled from what the others described to him.

"Exactly. The Temple's in Atlantica."

Ienzo instantly deflated. He lifted his watermelon to his lips and angrily nibbled on the edge. He knew well of Atlantica. They hadn't helped with defeating Xemnas, but King Triton was willing to agree to the peace treaty amongst the worlds as he too was tired of all of the fighting. The man was senile and quick to judge, making it hard for outsiders to visit the city floating in the ocean. Going to the Temple meant having to talk to Triton, and Ienzo could already guess what the King's answer would be.

"That is shitty news," the teen muttered, licking juice from his lips. Seifer nodded and spit more seeds down the beach. "Is there any way we can get to Atlantica from here? It's impossible to fly in so we're going to have to go by boat."

"I guess there's a ferry that heads out there three times a day, but from what the prick at the cantina said Atlantica's nothing but a resort floating in the ocean," Seifer explained, finishing off his watermelon slice and helping himself to a second.

"It's a start, at least." Ienzo took a large bite of melon and shoved the seeds into the corner of his mouth as he came across them. He waited as he heard footsteps shift in the sand approaching them and after picking a target, he shot the seeds out from between his lips.

"Hey!" Axel yelped as the seeds pelted his abdomen. "What, is it pick on Axel day?" the red head complained.

"Sure sounds like it," Naminé said breathlessly, flopping down on her towel with a sigh. Roxas snagged a pair of watermelon slices and passed one to Axel, both eagerly digging in.

"We're going to Atlantica first thin in the morning," Ienzo stated, taking a bite of his fruit.

"Really?" Axel pressed, an eyebrow shooting upwards in surprise. Roxas groaned and sat down heavily on the sand. He was as excited to see King Triton as Ienzo was. "I don't suppose Demyx will let us have a second day off to go to the water park there."

"Of course not! We've already spent a day at the beach," Naminé shot back, sending her red headed brother a sour look. "I'm sure we can bug Demyx about the water park _after_ we get the Aeon."

A grin broke out on Axel's face. "Now you're talking!" he cheered, tearing off a chunk of his watermelon and spitting the seeds on Ienzo. The teen scowled as seeds raining into his hair but quickly joined the others in laughing.

XxXxX

Early the next morning the group packed up their bags and headed to the ferry headed for Atlantica. Most of the trip was uneventful as the only thing to look at was miles and miles of water. Two hours passed before the captain informed them they were approaching their destination. As they approached, there was an anxious tension plaguing the members of Demyx's comradery. Atlantica stood tall as a gleaming resort with rides, water parks, and thousands of feet of boardwalk with shops and food to sample.

Yet they failed to see any sign of the palace Triton resided in.

"Maybe he's the King of the resort?" Demyx joked grimly.

"But Triton _has_ a kingdom. I've spoken with him enough times to get a gist of how he rules over his people and what they do as a community, yet out of the three years of knowing him I never pictured his home to be inside of the resort," Roxas stated. "It was my understanding the resort was just a tourist attraction to keep from people nosing their way into the business of Atlantica's locals."

"Well unless he lives in the penthouse or has an invisible castle, he's not living here," Axel commented dryly.

"Let's find someone to talk to when we get there," Ienzo suggested. "With Roxas and I having connections with Triton, I'm sure they'll let us see him." Deciding the teen's suggestion was the best course of action, they waited until they docked at the pier. Upon disembarking, they were quickly thrown into a sense of claustrophobia as hundreds of people crowded around them either milling about the piers or boarding the ferry back to Costa del Sol.

First they tried the information center only to get turned away rudely. Then they tried speaking with various employees, receiving few answers and many odd looks. It was almost as if King Triton didn't exist. Trying a different approach, they ventured to one of the resort hotels where they spoke with the concierge. They were pointed into the direction of the largest hotel where they were supposed to speak with management.

"This is ridiculous," Axel growled as they entered the grand hotel. All around it looked like they were underwater with colorful coral and lighting flickering on the surfaces of the walls. Large fish tanks filled with a variety of sea life sprinkled the wall as well as created the floor under their shoes. Naminé watched as a shark swam lazily under her feet and quickly hastened her stride.

They approached the desk attendant and asked to see management as they were instructed. From there they were brought to a back office where someone by the name of Sebastian met with them. The man was taller than Axel and incredibly thin with charming red hair and a large pair of glasses on his nose. He ushered the group inside with a sweeping bow, asking for them to sit in what chairs were available.

"I see you are travelers," Sebastian noted, sitting in his high backed chair. He adjusted his glassed and folded his hands on his large, mahogany desk. "How may I make your stay here more comfortable?"

"We are in need to see King Triton," Roxas stated, hoping the manager had some answers.

The thin man frowned, his eyes growing dark. "And who are you to demand such a task?" Sebastian asked coldly.

"My name's Roxas. I'm the representative of Twilight Town on the peace treaty council," the blonde introduced.

"If his name holds no merit, then please use mine. My name's Ienzo. Zexion, King of Hollow Bastion, is my older brother," the teen added.

Sebastian's eyebrows raised a fraction as he studied the group carefully. "And why are such representatives seeking out the King?" he asked. Roxas and Ienzo turned to Demyx. The summoner cleared his throat gently, forcing back his nerves.

"My name's Demyx, and I'm a summoner in need of praying at the Sacred Temple here in Atlantica. I'm following my Pilgrimage to defeat Sin," the ivory haired man explained. Sebastian mulled over the information carefully, tapping his long, thin fingertips together as he thought. He rose from his desk and quietly asked for the group to follow him. Without a word of explanation, the manager led them to an employee elevator and swiped his card. A gold light turned on and Sebastian pressed it, making the elevator lower.

"Please excuse our behavior as the King does not like outsiders in his kingdom," Sebastian explained. "However, I do hope you will forgive us for the shock."

"Shock?" Roxas asked. Before Sebastian could explain, the floor gave out beneath them, sending the group plunging down several stories before they crashed into freezing water. Ienzo froze as he felt himself being surrounded with darkness. Axel grabbed onto the teen's wrist and kicked towards the surface.

Yet before anyone could get a gulp of air, the elevator pressed down on top of them. All routes of air were quickly cut off. Demyx desperately tried to create air spaces for everyone so they could breath, but his energy was drained away by some unknown force. One by one, the humans gasped for air only to have water fill their lungs, their screams instantly silenced.

XxXxX

Roxas groaned in his head and cracked open his eyes. The world around him was blurry, swimming in a sea of colors and textures to the point he wanted to vomit. Sound was muffled in his ears and moving his arms felt like he was swimming through runny Jell-O. He pressed a hand to his forehead as he sat up, noticing for the first time how dry his hands were. They felt practically scaly! Taking a mental note to borrow some of Naminé's lotion later, he tried to acclimate himself to the world once again. Despite feeling rather cold, he wasn't uncomfortable which would have been a first. Usually he was the first one reaching for a sweatshirt on a cool day.

As he moved his legs, he thought they felt rather tight. Panic flared in his chest as he realized his legs were bound together with dark blue fabric. Roxas reached down to rip it off when he felt someone grab his wrists. He was about to fight back when he saw a blob of red hovering in front of his face.

"Roxas, it's just me," Axel reassured him. "Stay calm, buddy, cause you're in for one Hell of a shock." The blonde opened his mouth to speak and only a flood of bubbles came out.

Bubbles?

Roxas rubbed his eyes and desperately tried to clear his vision. As the world came into view, he found himself wishing he would simply fall back unconscious more and more. Standing, or better yet floating, in front of him was Axel, but the man was a man no more. Where Axel's legs had once been was a long, scarlet tail. Along his back were thin, aqua colored spines with red and blue mottled webbing in between. The outer halves of his arms were rimmed with scarlet scales. His hair floated gently along his neck, the red mixing with the scarlet almost seamlessly.

Daring to look down, Roxas failed to find a proper reaction. His legs were gone, replaced by a dark blue set of scales leading into an ice blue fin. Along his spine was a golden yellow fin that ruffled in the current. Unlike Axel, only Roxas's triceps were covered in cobalt scales, although he had tiny, ice blue fins on the backs of his arms. Opening his mouth to swear, a large bubble burst from his lips. Axel snickered, his voice sounding like waves crashing against stone.

"You have to project your thoughts," the red head instructed, tapping a finger to his forehead without opening his mouth.

Roxas scowled and tapped into his mind. "Why the fuck do I have a tail?" he asked, finding it rather easy to project his mind. "And why the fuck do you have a tail?" Axel laughed again.

"Uh, I guess you could say it's a world trade secret. I was talking with Sebastian earlier and he mentioned something about not letting the other worlds know about this."

"That Atlantica is filled with fish people?" Roxas asked flatly.

"Mer-people, Roxas," Axel corrected. He swooped down and arched over the blonde's head with ease. "It's actually kind of fun once you get used to it."

"I'd rather not, to be honest," the Soldier admitted, looking down at his scaly hands. Miniature skin toned scales covered his palms, making Roxas feel even more like a fish than he had before.

"We don't exactly have a choice." Axel swam over to the bed, which was nothing more than a slab of rock, next to his friend and lied back with his hands folded behind his head. "Sounds like this is the only way to get to the Temple." Roxas frowned, turning his gaze away from his body to look at something else that didn't remind him his legs were now up for grabs on a sushi menu.

He spotted Naminé farther down the long room, which didn't have any walls the Soldier noticed, trying out her fins for the first time. Hers were off-white and seemed to glow in the low ocean light. Much like Roxas's back fin, all of her smaller fins were thin and ruffled in the current like gossamer in the breeze. It was also then he noted Naminé was wearing her swimsuit top, a bright yellow bikini tied around her neck and between her shoulder blades. Roxas glanced at his chest to find it bare, like Axel's. It made him wonder where his clothes went and where his backpack had ended up.

The Soldier looked up as he heard a swoosh over his head to find Seifer slowly gliding his way through the water with a blank expression. His fin was steel grey with sharper fins protruding from his back and triceps. He looked more like a shark than a fish, although Roxas was found himself not surprised by this revelation. The last to wake were Ienzo and Demyx, who were both equally as shocked by their fishy revolution.

Ienzo's scales were a dark shade of violet, nearly black, and he had a series of gunmetal spikes with chrome colored webbing between them along his back. Demyx's scales were black as well as his spines with chrome webbing. A pair of chrome colored scales created stripes along the back of the summoner's tail. With his Atlantis crystal floating gently next to his chest, he reminded Roxas of an angler fish.

Waking up as a fish was one thing, but learning to swim like a mermaid – man – was harder than Roxas thought. It wasn't like swimming in a pool, like he did as a kid before the war. He had to read the currents riding around him as well as utilize muscles completely foreign to him. By the end of his practice session his back was screaming like an old man. Taking a break to rub his sore lumbar region, Roxas looked over to the others and frowned. Demyx, Axel, and Seifer seemed so natural in the water once they got the hang of swimming. Naminé wasn't too far behind.

Yet Ienzo was petrified.

The teen couldn't see what was happening and the water made it disorienting to decipher where his friends were. There were no walls or floor to help guide him along. He was simply floating in space without any way of knowing which direction was up or where he should go. Axel held onto Ienzo's hands as he helped the teen get used to moving with his newly found tail, yet the silver haired male was shaking like a leaf the entire time. The only thing keeping him sane was the sound of Axel's voice muttering reassurance to him.

It wasn't long before a tiny mermaid with lavender hair reported to the group they were to be seen by the King. They followed the girl along a pale yellow road lined with street lights made from coral towards the structure appearing out of the gloom in front of them, Ienzo holding onto Axel's hand until his knuckles turned white. Tall spires stood tall with large arches adorning the castle. They party was led through a large hallway where they entered an open room furnished with a single chair on a tall pedestal. Upon it sat the man, or merman, they sought.

King Triton stroked his massive white beard while his free hand clutched his ever present trident. The group managed to bow awkwardly before approaching the King. Roxas's eyes shot to the left as someone else joined them and quickly recognized the tall, lanky form of Sebastian only now the man had a tail. The manager swam to the King's side and bowed deeply to the travelers. It was then Roxas noticed he had three large spines on each side of his ruby tail, making him look a bit like a crab.

"Welcome to Atlantica," Sebastian greeted. "Our Majesty, King Triton, is willing to discuss whatever it is you wished to speak with him about."

The King nodded and smirked as he picked out the Soldier from the group. "Roxas, what a surprise. I never pictured seeing you here in a hundred years. I have to say the look rather suits you," Triton jested.

"Um, thank you," Roxas replied. "I have to say I never expected you were, well, a merman sir." Triton chuckled heartedly and even Sebastian smirked, the manager adjusted his glasses higher on his nose.

"I suppose the suits put a much different image in your mind." The King lowered his hand from his beard to the armrest of his chair. "Atlantica is a true gem amongst the worlds, however I like to keep it a secret. If I must return to the surface in order to conduct my meetings with the other worlds and don human clothing than I will. So, I hear one of you is trying to destroy Sin." Triton's cool eyes scanned the group until Demyx shifted forward, giving the King a small bow.

"Yes, your Majesty," Demyx agreed. "I'm taking it upon myself to complete my Pilgrimage."

Triton's face turned a bit sour. "And I suppose you would like to access our Sacred Temple, is that correct?" Demyx muttered his agreement, however Triton's disposition only darkened. "The last person we let into the Temple nearly destroyed it! It took us _months_ to repairs the damage. As I do not you all well enough to trust you inside of our Temple, I will have to decline your offer." The surface dweller's expressions turned to shock. Even Seifer looked a bit confused. "Until I find a reason to trust you, besides having Roxas and young Ienzo with you, I will not allow you access to the Temple."

"But…!" Roxas started to protest.

"You are dismissed!" Triton barked. Shaken by the King's final decision, the group quietly bowed and left the throne room.

Sebastian cast a side long look at his King, a large frown plaguing his lips. "If I may be so bold, your Majesty, but I found that rather cold of you," the red head commented.

"I'm not letting them destroy something so Sacred to the worlds. Do you know what would happen if one of the Sacred Aeons were to be destroyed?" Triton countered. Sebastian's frown deepened, his eyes shifting to where the summoner and his guardians disappeared.

"Aye, your Majesty."

XxXxX

_ All around him people were screaming, fleeing in every which way. Knights were bombarding the city with magic and attacking citizens at random. He clutched at his chest tightly, tears plaguing his eyes as he desperately wished for his parents. Then he heard the voice. It called to him, urging him forward. He followed, running passed throngs of screaming people. As he reached the courtyard, his mind went blank. His feet stopped running as powerful energy flowed through his veins._

_ Then the Knights were screaming, fleeing in terror. One of them shot a large bolt at him but it bounced off some sort of force field hovering around him. The man screamed as the bolt tore through his eye before taking off after his comrades. Fires grew and smoke billowed higher into the air. He had to be stopped._

Demyx gasped as he bolted upright, feeling a chill roll down his spine. He looked around wildly and found himself sitting on a large stained glass window with a bit of it glowing brightly. His eyes scanned further to see a familiar figure standing farther away with his back turned.

"Roxas?" Demyx called out. The blonde didn't seem to hear him. A large shadow loomed taller from outside of the stained glass floor and a pair of white gauntlets hovered over them. Demyx's eyes grew wide as one of the metal hands wrapped tightly around the Soldier with a loud clang. "Roxas!" Demyx reached out but the floor shattered, sending the summoner falling in a cascade of colored shards.

XxXxX

"Dem!" Demyx gasped as he jerked awake, surprised to see Axel shaking his shoulder. "Dem, get up! Roxas is gone!"


End file.
